photo by kiwikewlio @ flickr.com
Allow me a vanity moment. It has happened. My husband – an ophthalmologist – warned me that the day would come, and it finally did. I now have reading glasses.
It happened quickly. One day, I was churning through my students’ papers unencumbered, and the next well . . . we were sitting at a restaurant and I was complaining about the fuzzy print on the menu.
“Fuzzy print?” husband asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “Can I see yours?”
He generously handed over his menu.
It’s blurry, too. I’m confused.
“Time to make that eye appointment,” he guffawed.
Six months later, I have reading glasses stashed all over every corner of my life: the night-table drawer, the kitchen desk, in the computer room, in the library (read: bathroom), in my car, in my purse. None of these reading glasses are pretty as I purchase them in Val-U packs of three (or more) from Target. I have this one pair of thick black frames that I would never wear in public because when I wear them I seriously look like Drew Carey‘s sister.
I have to admit, I feel notably less sexy with my glasses on. I’m sorry, but it is true. I would rather look smokin’ hot in my red dress and stumble into the dessert table at somebody’s wedding than wear my glasses. And I don’t need them for distance, so I can’t wear contact lenses — and I am not a good candidate for LASIK, so you can stop right there with those suggestions. I am simply a latent hyperope. I don’t exactly know what that is, but it sounds very high-maintenance. Apparently, there is nothing for me to do except try to “make nice” with my new reading glasses.
“Eventually you are going to need to be fitted for a lovely set of bifocals,” my husband recently teased.
Alas, I didn’t know what I had until it was gone. 😉
What surprises have you learned about yourself as you’ve grown older?
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- A Different Kind of Eyeglasses (online.wsj.com)
renée a. schuls-jacobson 