When I was about six years old, I was fitted with my first pair of glasses. My grade 1 teacher Miss Metivier alerted my parents, having suspected I needed them because I squinted at the board and had a challenge telling time on the big clock at the front of the classroom. She knew my challenge wasn't lack of intelligence, because otherwise I kept her pretty busy with my questions and volunteering in class and 'leading' the other children through challenging reading concepts. Those of you who know me well will recognize this 'directive' nature. I digress...
Imagine my utter delight when I first put on my new 'cats eye' glasses (it was 1963, after all, and I was always needing to be in the height of fashion)... there was the face of the clock in the doctor's office, as clear as anything! Blades of grass were separate, not blurred masses of green! And the most wonderous thing of all, the flame of a candle next to the altar at Mass was a slender light, not a glowing ball. It was weeks before I stopped pointing in wonder at things I had not seen clearly before.
Fast forward many years in a love/hate relationship with vision correction. I cannot count the number of 'new' prescriptions I have needed in my lifetime, as my inherited nearsightedness progressed (and continues to deteriorate), with old glasses dutifully sent to the missions in Africa who can reuse them. I am not eligible for surgical correction because my eyes are 'too bad' and success unlikely (my prescription is >-11 !) and I have had to forgo the use of contact lenses (used for a while in the early 2000s) due to the limitations of technology and the curse of aging (presbyopia, we call it). My best correction so far has been progressive trifocals, and yet the reading part is still a challenge, having to remove my glasses to see tiny print.
Until now! Glory Be! Yay! BIFOCAL contacts which also work with double, shifting astigmatisms... a MIRACLE! When the technician gave them to me yesterday, I wanted to yell, 'Free at last, free at last, praise God Almighty, I'm free at last!" Well, that is a bit melodramatic, but that is what I felt like. They work! Now I can:
1. Read without dragging my glasses down on my nose
2. Horseback ride without worrying about losing my glasses or having them steam up
3. Not go into a desperate panic if I knock my glasses onto the floor from my night table, having groped for them to check the time on the beside clock radio (panic... because if I can't find 'em, I am BLIND!)
And, best of all
4. Wear COOL sunglasses!
The shocker, though, is having to reconcile myself to the fact that aging + weight loss + no glasses = (even more evident) WRINKLES. Sigh. Oh well, they are honest wrinkles and I vow to hydrate them at least or camoflage them at best. Oh yes, did I mention Rick's delight when I began noticing the dust/cobwebs that adorn our old farmhouse (heretofore 'missed' due to imperfect vision) - maybe there are some downsides to seeing optimally. Lest those who live nearby worry, I could always see perfectly well to drive, ha! Seriously though. Take a moment to appreciate the astonishing gift that sight is. I can never take it for granted.
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