Four Eyes

I first began to consistently need glasses when I was in my early 20s.  I didn’t really mind wearing glasses, though I never recognized myself in the mirror when I wore them and I missed peripheral vision.  Extended wear contact lenses became my solution —— I loved them for the peripheral vision they provided and I wore them all day and all night with nary a problem.  As my 20s disappeared into my 30s, wearing contact lenses was sometimes a challenge.  Not much, mind you, but enough that I gave up extended wear lenses in exchange for monthly disposable lenses that I took out each night.  

When my early 40s arrived, my eye doctor suggested that contact lenses would be more of a problem as I aged, with dry eyes becoming an uncomfortable reality of daily living.  I denied that this was a problem for me, though I did become more careful about selecting glasses.  Over time, with better-quality glasses at hand, I began to wear my glasses more and more often.  Sunny days always meant contact lenses so that I could wear sun glasses outside.  But on cloudy days, I’ve become increasingly likely to skip the contacts and wear my glasses all day long.  The more I wear my glasses, the more I realize that peripheral vision not withstanding, I can see better in glasses.  I’m still surprised when I see my face in the mirror, but hey, who isn’t sometimes surprised when they realize they aren’t 25 anymore?

A few months ago, T suggested that I would enjoy prescription sunglasses.   I deferred, claiming them to be unnecessary.  But the idea had been planted and more and more often as I put in my contact lenses in the morning, I’ve come to wish I simply had prescription sunglasses at hand, so that I could skip the discomforts of a long day in contact lenses.

And now you know where this post is headed.  I’ve finally gone out and obtained some prescription sunglasses.   I still don’t recognize myself in glasses but dang, I can see very well when I wear them.  All of this is just a way of admitting that  I’m 47 years old and just now starting to use my common sense on a regular basis.  So that's promising.