Glasses!

Well, I guess it had to happen eventually, right? I have my first pair of glasses. I'm not totally thrilled about it, but what does make me happy is that I can see!! I didn't realize how much trouble I was actually having until I got my glasses. Whoa! What a difference!

My main trouble with these eyes of mine was seeing at night while I was driving. I felt like I had a permanent fog in front of me (despite my attempts to move it with my hand only to be disappointed when it remained). It was terribly frustrating and made me an over-cautious driver (the one's I hate to be behind). I was sort of terrified to drive at night - nothing seemed clear and I was never really sure where I was driving...scary.

Then, when watching TV from our bed, the guide channel was blurry. I had a really difficult time reading the channel numbers and the names of the shows. I starting "reading" by the shapes of the words rather than the combination of letters and sounds. Mike saw my struggle one night and said, "Here, try these on." He handed me his glasses and it was like a whole new world. Clarity and color. Amazing. Simply amazing. That was the clincher for me...it's time to get my eyes checked.

As I sat in Lens Crafters waiting for the optometrist to see me, I had to fill out a form full of my personal info. It asked questions to determine how I viewed my own eyesight. Along with the above mentioned "symptoms", I also started to think that I did have a difficult time seeing the computer screen and recall my body leaning closer and closer to the screen in order to read whatever happened to be there.

The eye doctor found that I do have a need for glasses (not a terrible need...I'm not close to blindness, but glasses would make life easier). She said that I need them for driving, watching TV and working on the computer. I could use them as I felt I needed them.

On the drive home, I was very giddy. Michael seemed elated himself as I professed (again and again) "I can see!" "Wow! Look at that sign! It's really green!" "This is amazing!"

I have SO much MORE confidence driving, now. And watching TV is more of a beautiful thing - all the colors are so vibrant AND I can actually find my shows through the traditional method of reading words and numbers. Oh, and I can sit up straight at work. No more leaning and getting mistaken for trying to make out with my computer screen!

My eyes haven't gotten used to them yet. The doc said it takes about a week. I asked Mike if his eyes got tired when he first got his. His response, "I don't remember. I got my first pair so long ago...at age 13." It's only been 2 days for me. My eyes are tired, but that's OK because, I CAN SEE! I'll be even more excited when my eyes don't get worn out.

I haven't gotten used to actually putting them on, either. For example: Today we had an all-employee staff meeting with a beautiful power point presentation. I was sitting there thinking to myself, "Gee, why do those letters look so blurry?" Then it hit me. Oh..hehe...my glasses are on my desk....oops. Then I thought, "Gee, I sure wish I had my glasses." What a dummy! Renelle, my "desk-mate" and amazing friend told me to give myself a break. It'll take a while for me to remember to put them on, too.

And, I'm also not used to seeing myself in them. When I go to the ladies room and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I tend to be a little thrown-back at my reflection. Then I coach myself into remembering I have glasses now. Again, what a dummy!

Picking out a pair of glasses was a whole other story! I have a terrible time choosing between candy bars that will be devored in record time, never mind something that will remain in my immediate area for about a year. Phew! I'm tired just thinking about how hard it was. Overall, I guess I'm happy. But there WERE these glasses with a sparkly flower on the side! But I can't think like that...no...I have the ones I have. It was tough. Real tough. I ended up with a pair of Ralph Lauren (ooo la la) glasses. Dark purple on the outside and light pink on the inside. Fun and colorful, yet subtle enough to match ANY outfit. I like 'em and so does Mike. But those sparkle ones were nice too....oh well. I guess it doesn't really matter because...I CAN SEE!!!