Well.  Sometimes.  Just SOMETIMES…I overreact.  You all.  Listen.  If you had the traumatic incident that I had yesterday while freezing corn, you would have reacted the SAME WAY.  I’m almost sure of it.  Ummmmm…okay.  Maybe YOU wouldn’t have reacted like I did, but I can’t help it that weird things happen to me.  AND that I might, just might, be a hypochondriac.

Let’s start back at the beginning.  Yesterday, the boys and I drove to my parents to help them freeze corn.  The sweet corn was ready to be picked and for the past few years, we’ve made it a tradition to help Mom and Papa Joe.  The trade-off is we go home with bags and bags of corn to be put in our freezer.  Corn that is just so tasty come mid-winter when you’re craving some good ol’ sweet corn.

Last year, I wrote all about our “Freezing Corn” day AND the recipe/steps on how to freeze sweet corn. Freezing Corn…the recipe

With my mom still very weak from her stay in the hospital due to bacteria colitis and food poisoning, the boys and I knew we needed to step it up and really be hard workers.  I’ll give my mom credit…she did way more than I could have done if I had felt as weak as she did.  #mymomisatrooper

We picked the corn…

Random thought…why do I always think of the movie “Children of the Corn” when in a cornfield???  (“Malachai!  He wants you….”-insert scary music).  I don’t even know how to explain myself after that random thought.  ANYWAY.

I feel the need to share with you that I was in my mud boots, jeans, AND a long sleeve t-shirt while picking the sweet corn.  Listen.  I was NOT going to have cuts all over my arms from the corn.  (Just remembering how it was back when I detassled corn in the summer of 1988. Or 1989. Whatever.)  And I felt that should I come across one of those NASTY and SCARY garden spiders, I’d rather have my arms covered.  Just in case it tried to crawl on me.  (I’ll have you know that no spiders were seen.  Praise God, sweet Jesus.)

After picking sweet corn, we went back to Mom and Papa’s to shuck it.  Papa and the boys shucked it while Mom and I worked on taking the silks off (by using a damp washcloth or a plastic scrubber that you use to clean veggies).

While we worked on corn, the boys’ kittens provided plenty of entertainment for us.  Pouncing on each other, Ginger and Pumpkin were having a grand old time.  Until Ginger climbed too high in a tree.  So Papa and Maxim got her down.

Notice Pumpkin, Nate’s kitten, in the picture?  It’s as if she was laughing at her sister.  See, Pumpkin is the cat with nine lives, I believe.  She’s been to the vet twice now.  And that little daredevil can climb a tree like Spiderman AND get back down without a problem.  Clearly, Ginger needs to take some lessons from her sister.  Or maybe Ginger just needs to stop climbing trees.

When we finished with the shucking and silking, the boys were just dying to go have some fun in the big puddle that was in the center of my parents’ driveway.

We came in and got to work…washing the corn cobs off and then, stacking them on the counter.

Now, the boys had worked so hard and without one single complaint.  I was so proud of them.  Their jobs were mainly done, so they went out to play with their kittens.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Mom and I cut the corn off the cob.

We had pots of corn cooking on the stove in the sugar and water (How to freeze corn…the BEST recipe!)…

Mom was working way more than I wanted her to work.  (I can’t tell you how bad that food poisoning and bacteria colitis has affected her energy and what she is able to eat right now.  Continued prayers for my mama, please!)  That sweet thang just would NOT sit down for more than two minutes…then, she’d be back up working on the corn.

The newspaper was spread out all over because that corn is soooo sticky.  The sugary, starchy juices will splatter EVERYWHERE.  #messywork

So, we worked on the corn.  And worked on the corn.  And worked on the corn.

AND THEN.  While doing this:

It all went south.  Bad.  BAD.  VERY BAD.  No.  I did not cut my finger with the sharp knife.

Corn juice splashed up into my eye.

I’ll say it again.

CORN JUICE SPLASHED UP INTO MY EYE.

Yes.  I was cutting the corn off the cob and throughout the day, it had splattered all over.  On my arms.  On the cupboards.  On the floor.  BUT.  Then, it splattered up INTO MY LEFT EYE.

I immediately rubbed my eye and then, went on working.  Because I like to think that I’m a hard worker.  But within a few minutes, my left eye started to burn a little.  Then, A LOT.  So, I went to the bathroom and looked at my eye.  And OH MY WORD.  It was red.  Really red.  Blood shot.  Irritated.  And burning.

Not one to overreact (hahaha), I ran back out to the kitchen and in a slight panic, showed Mom my red and irritated eye.  She looked in their medicine cabinet and found some Bausch & Lomb Eye Wash.  This stuff:

This was an emergency, so I began the Emergency Eye Cleansing treatment.  (For those of you wondering, yes…before using this, I did try and wash out my eye with water.)  I irrigated my left eye and prayed for divine and immediate healing.  Then, I did what any rational person would do…I called my eye doctor.

I explained the situation, “Hi, this is Angela.  I have corn juice in my eye.  Yes.  I’m freezing corn and when I was cutting it off the cob, a BUNCH of corn juice splattered IN MY EYE.  And, you KNOW how sticky and sugary and starchy corn juice is, right???!”  Completely normal conversation with my eye doctor’s office.  Completely.

Well, she was going to have drops at the front desk for Hubby to pick up, but I told her about these other drops my parents had and after confirming with the eye doctor, she said those would be just fine.  So, I put THOSE drops into my left eye.  And waited.  With my left contact out, I went back to cutting corn off the cob, EVER SO CAREFULLY using my right eye to see out of.  The left eye…it was just a blur.

Eventually, we had the corn all done and in pans and bowls, cooling off.  We cleaned up the kitchen (and all of the sticky corn juice that was everywhere) and packed up the car to head for home.

I was able to put my left contact back into my eye and felt that my vision was not impaired.  (Though it did still feel uncomfortable and was watery and somewhat mattery.)  Again, praise God and glory hallelujah.  Crisis averted.  I’m going to be okay.

Listen.  I realize that some of you aren’t as worrisome as myself, but…surely, you can understand why I was slightly panic-stricken.  I mean, CORN JUICE IN MY EYE???!  I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Once home, I bagged up the corn that was completely cooled off.

And today.  We’ve got bags and bags of delicious sweet corn in the freezer.  And.  My eye.  It is doing better.  Just a tad waterier than normal in my left eye, but I think it’s going to be A-okay.