A New Lens

The wind blew at the blue and green decorations. Parents, Aunts and Uncles were getting everything ready for the big day. Us grandkids though were just playing around on the tire swing. I was climbing one of the trees to try to get a better look at the driveway without being seen. Today was Pop’s surprise birthday party for his 60th birthday. I looked across the yard from my favourite tree, Pop’s truck wasn’t there yet. Granny had made the distraction of sending Pop to the airport to pick up Uncle Tom who was just getting back from the army. While Pop was gone the whole family came and has been helping Grannie decorate the back. Well, the Uncles helped at first, but they got distracted and started talking about the new buck they had seen on their Go Pro or about who had won the last football game or who was going to win in politics.

”Jack!” My head jerked at the sound of my name. “I need you to help me for a minute.”

It was my Mom calling me.

”Can I stay up here? I have to let everyone know when Pop gets here.”

”I’ll give you a hand.” It was Charlie, my Mom’s fiancé. He was like a father to me, well he was the only one that I’ve had since I can remember. Though I do remember when I was little hearing my Mom talk to Grannie about my Dad (whoever that man was) when we were living with Grannie and Pop. Mom cried a lot back then, Grannie would always tell her that it wasn’t her fault, but that never eased Mom’s mind. When Mom got a job we were able to move into our own house. It was nice though I did miss Grannie and Pop. Then one day at church we had a visitor, his name was Charlie. Mom took a real liking to Charlie straight away and that never changed and Charlie took a real liking to her too. It wasn’t just to her though he took a real liking to me as well. Mom said that God was filling a lonely part in all of our hearts and God was using Charlie to do it.

”Alright.” She smiled at him as she walked away.

Charlie looked back up at me.

”You give us a haller when he gets here.” He winked.

I looked back toward the road. A car passed and my insides twitched with excitement, but I wasn’t Pop. It was just a little silver car driving by. I looked back toward the party that was being prepared. Everything was done so far. Aunts were getting a few little things set up all nice and neat, making sure it was perfect.

A bird sang nearby, I looked to see where it was. It was a beautiful Cardinal. It’s bright red feathers stood out on the little grey tree he was perched on. I hoped that it would be there when Pop got home. He loved birds, well he loved anything in nature. There was one thing though that I didn’t get was why he loved them so much. I mean sure, it’s really pretty with all the colours and shapes and sizes and all that, but Pop couldn’t see the colours. He had never seen them. For as long as he had lived, he had never seen them. I tried to imagine that Cardinal with no bright red feathers and it was nowhere near as beautiful as what my eyes were resting on now. It was just a grey bird with black around it’s eyes. Nothing beautiful about that. I watched the bird for a while as it hopped from one branch to the other. It’s head twitched now and then watching the goings on of the forest.

The sound of tires rolling over gravel brought my attention back to my self-assigned job. It was Pop’s truck. He was here!

”He’s here!” I yelled excited to be the one to tell people the blessed news. I climbed down a few branches and then slide the rest of the way down.

”Everybody quiet!” Grannie declared. Grannie went through the house to the front door and met Pop there.

”Look who I brought home.” Pop pointed at Uncle Tom.

”Oh, Tom you’re home!” Grannie gave him a warm hug. “Come in, come in.”

We all grew quiet as we listened to the front door close and booted feet marching on the wooden floors.

”Come out side.” Grannie urged.

”What for?” Pop asked in his pretend grumpy voice.

”I got something I want to show you.”

The three emerged from the house.

”SURPRISE!!!”

Pop couldn’t believe it.

”What in the world? What are you all doing here? What’s going on?” He mumbled with a smile as he received hugs from the Aunts and my Mom.

”Happy Birthday, dear.” Grannie said as she pecked Pop’s cheek.

”Oh, my.” Pop said like he always said when he was surprised by something. He looked around at all the decorations, the cake, the food, but most of all us who made the surprise for him.

Once the surprise had sunken in a bit we could have fun. We played some fun games like corn hole, horse shoe and some other little activities some of the older cousins had put together. The one that was everyone’s favourite was trivia, but it wasn’t just any trivia, it was Pop trivia. Charlie was chosen to read the questions since he was the newest to the family.

”Ok, this is a three choice question. When Pop was 10 years old what did he get his overalls caught on? A. A fence post. B. The tractor. Or C. The chicken coup.”

The timer started and everyone started talking. When the thirty seconds were over several teams raised their hands.

”Alright you guys over there.” Charlie pointed.

”The tractor.” They answered in a less than confident voice.

”Wrong!” Pop objected. “It was the chicken coup. Because,” he said turning to his older brother, Bill that was sitting next to him. “My older brother was smoking behind that old barn and I saw him doing it.”

”Well, yeah you were, well, I should say are the biggest tattle tale.” His brother mentioned. A few of the family laughed a bit.

”Are you going to let me tell this story or what?” Pop asked the old brotherhood rivalry still burning just as strongly as it had when they were young.

”Ok, ok.” Uncle Bill said holding his hands in the air in submission.

”I went running inside to tell Mama what happened, because it was the Christian thing to do. Then old Bill grabbed a hold of me and hung me on the tallest stake on the coup upside down. Well, let’s just say my behind wasn’t the sorest at the end of the day. Bill got one good spanking as well as having to wash his moth out with soap and do my chores.”

I burst out laughing like everyone else.

Pop told stories like no one else. He always had the audience on the edge of their seats no matter what the subject was about.

We finished the games with many new memories and laughs, but now it was time for the cake. Pop made his way over to the table with the cake. Mom took a couple of pictures of Pop and Grannie holding the cake up. I watched as Grannie cut the cake. The icing looked marvellous. The cake had a picture of Pop holding up his personal best bass. I remembered that day, it was the first time Charlie came fishing with Pop and I.

The cake was cut and we all dug in. Oh how good that cake was. It was light and fluffy and the icing just melted in my mouth. There was no more cake after the clan that we call a family each had some. We had to have two cakes just for everyone to have one piece.

When the cake was gone Pop was seated in the chair of honour for presents. We all gathered around as he opened them all up, one by one, and one by one he gave each of us a hug and a big thank you.

It really was an amazing day. The whole family was there having fun honouring one of the most important people in all of our lives.

”Well, I just want to say this. Thank you everyone, this has been the best birthday ever.” Pop said as he looked around at everything that the family had pulled together.

”Well, don’t talk too soon. There is still one more present.” Grannie said as she patted his shoulder lovingly.

”There’s another one? Well, I won’t say no to a present.” Pop said, a few people chuckled.

”This one is from all of us.”

Pop took the box.

”It must be expensive cause it’s so small.” Pop joked. “I would have thought that you all would have gotten me an ATV or something if you were going to get me something together because you all are so rich.”

”We’re not that rich.” Someone answered sarcastically and a few people laughed.

Pop ripped the blue and gold wrapping paper off and we all waited. I had no idea about this present. The adult hadn’t told us kids about the party until last night so that we wouldn’t spoil it, the same probably happened with this.

”Well,” Pop said a little confused when he opened it all the way. It was just a pair of sunglasses.

”They’re sunglasses, dear. Put them on.” Grannie said excitement seeping through her voice.

”They must be some sunglasses if they are from all of you.” He joked as he put them on.

I most definitely didn’t expect for him to react to just an old pair of sunglasses like that. Pop jumped and looked around his head going this way and that looking at everything. He stood up and turned around.

”Can you see it, dear?” Grannie asked as a tear ran down her cheek.

”What are these?” Pops voice sounded shocked and strange. I had never heard it like that before.

”They are special glasses that help colour blind people see colours.”

”Oh, my.” Pop said trying to look at everything at once.

I understood now.

Pop wiped his eyes when he let himself. Then he began to lower the glasses and lift them back up to see the difference between the world he had lived his whole life in and the one he was entering.

”Oh, my.” He said again, his voice not shocked anymore, but overwhelmed. Pop was seeing a new world. What was once a place that was black and white, like the old movies was full and vibrant with colour.

And to think that he already loved the first one so much, how was he feeling about the second? We all knew the answer to that question. Pop was never one to cry about anything, but now he was weeping for joy.

”Oh, my!” He said looking up at the sky now.

There were no words that he could use to describe what he was seeing. Something that we had all been taking for granted was now his. Pop took the glasses off and wiped his eyes.

”Oh, my.” Pop was struggling to get his emotions under control again. “Oh, my. I just…I can’t believe it.” He put the glasses back on and looked around. “It looks…I just…I don’t know what to say.”

Pop sat back down in his chair still trying to look in every direction at once.

”God is an amazing designer.” He said when he could finally speak again. “I’ve never been in a world that looked like this before. Am I seeing what everyone sees everyday?”

”Yes, dear.” Grannie patted his hand adoringly.

”Wow!” Pop then turned his attention to everyone around him and began to study us as if truely seeing us for the first time. Once he had looked all of us over he settled in his chair a little more, allowing himself to relax a bit.

”Well, I think if anyone has anymore surprises they should wait a couple of weeks until I am not surprised about these anymore. I don’t think my heart could take anymore.”

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I played with my cousins a lot and talked with Uncle Tom some. The grown ups cleaned up the decorations and things while Pop sat there talking to the Uncles. Slowly one by one the family started to make their exits. Mom, Charlie and I were the last ones to leave. Mom and Charlie were helping Grannie with a few things while Grannie was asking about the upcoming wedding. As any boy I wasn’t that interested in talking about the wedding. I looked around for Pop and found him leaning on the railing that outlined the paddock. I ran over there to join him.

”Hi, Pop!” I said as I climbed up the railing to sit on the top.

”Hey, cowboy.”

”What did you think of the party?”

”I think that it was one of the nicest things that anyone has ever down for me.”

I looked out over the field trying to imagine what Pop was seeing, but I didn’t have to anymore. He was seeing the same things that I was seeing. He could see the colours and shades of each colour. Everything, he could see it all.

”Jack, I have never felt this way in all my life.”

”What do you mean?”

”Well, I always loved God’s creation, the trees, the flowers, the animals, birds, the fish, all of it. I always knew that it was so much more than what I saw. Jack, I knew one day when I got to heaven I would see it the way that everyone else sees it, but I didn’t have to wait. I get to see it now. It’s like I’m in a new world.”

”So the glasses are like a portal or something.”

Pop chuckled.

”Well, I guess you could call it that.”

I looked back at the house where my Mom and Charlie were talking with Granny. A flash of red caught my eye in the tree next to me.

”Look, Pop!”

It was the red Cardinal.

Pop looked in the direction that I was pointing.

”Oh, my.” Pop said in disbelief. He lowered the glasses to see what he would normally see. “Is that a Cardinal?”

I nodded.

”It’s red. I knew they were red, but I didn’t know what that looked like for real.”

I looked at Pop and his sweet simple way of looking at the things God had created. I looked back at the Cardinal and began to see it in a different way. The way Pop saw it.

”Thank you, God, for this amazing gift.” Pop whispered. I could tell that he was a little chocked up. I looked back at him and saw Pop in a new way too. Seeing colours was truely a gift and he knew it. For his whole life he had known it, and now he could see them. I leaned over and hugged him, loving him even more. His big burly arms wrapped around me tightly and lovingly.

”Oh, my.”