Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Glasses

I started wearing glasses when i was in the fifth grade. They were geeee-ky. They kind of looked like oddly arched brown eyebrows on the top, with clear plastic on the bottom that turned yellow in the way that plastic in the '50s turned yellow. But they sure improved my nearsightedness.

When I was 17 I got contact lenses. (cue the Hallelujah chorus) I loved my contact lenses for 42 years. Loved them. Loved them.

About 10 years ago, give or take, I found that to read I needed a little pair of those reading glasses in addition to my contact lenses. As the years went by I needed stronger and stronger reading glasses. Finally, by last year, it got to the point that I couldn't read the caller ID on my phone without the little reading glasses. I couldn't dial my cell phone without them. I couldn't read my watch without the friggin' reading glasses. In addition, the contacts were starting to bother me and feel scratchy and itchy and dry.

I went to see my eye doctor who commiserated. He told me about bifocal options for contact lenses, none of which he thought would work very well for me. He said, he himself was also facing the prospect of giving up his contact lenses for glasses and he said it was painful, because "we baby boomers really love our contact lenses." We nodded sadly at one another. When he looked in my eyes he said I really did need to give my eyes a break from contacts. They were suffering a little "erosion" from the lenses. (Erosion? eeek!)

I thought I would try those all clear, no frame glasses, but when I tried them on the effect was just too schoolmarmish. The technician said, "You need a little color, Hon." She was pushing a metallic blue pair with a rhinestone at each corner, but I wasn't feeling it. Finally I spotted this purply little pair and asked to try them on. "Oh, those are sassy!" she said. Sassy it was.

I'm resigned. I've had them for awhile now and I can see pretty well, even my watch and cell phone. The graduated lenses were hard to adjust to and I think the peripheral vision sucks and when I look in the mirror it is still a shock. Getting old is not cool. I probably need to replace my picture up there at the right hand corner of the blog. That's the old contact lens me. Here's the new glasses me.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:52 PM

    I think they're nice specs and you look cute - and sassy! I've worn glasses since I was 12 and have never been able to wear contact lenses - sob! My eyes just don't make enough tear stuff, even with supplemental drops, to make contacts viable. But then, there are so many cool frames- i reckon you get lots more choices whenyou have specs!

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  2. You still look good! Cool and elegant! I have the same problem being long sighted. Just got worse as I got older but I refuse to have bi-focals and now have different pairs for different things. Don't need glasses for driving. Thank the Lord!

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  3. Very elegant and the perfect color frames for you. I have worn both contacts and glasses since 4th grade. Now I have to take off my glasses to read or doing any hand work...if I had contacts, I would have to have reading glasses to do close work so what's the point. I think you look marvelous, dahling!

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  4. I totally, totally feel your pain on the contacts/glasses issue. I'm headed that direction myself, already to the phase where I often need to supplement my contacts with reading glasses and my regular glasses for when I don't wear the contacts are progressive lenses. I will miss my contacts SO much when I have to give them up altogether.

    That said though, if you have to wear glasses full time, those really do look fabulous on you!

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  5. Anonymous9:23 AM

    Good choice of frames, Terry!
    I got the rimless look myself...they are ultra light on my nose is why. But boy can they make me see! I can thread a beading needle again!
    The only problem is looking in the mirror...I never do that with my glasses on.

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