I can see clearly now….

I spent most of my life in glasses or contact lenses! Each year from about the 4th grade I had to get new glasses with a stronger prescription. My vision got so bad that when I woke up, the first thing I reached for were my glasses because I couldn’t see the alarm clock on my night stand to tell what time it was! If you saw me between the year I was in the fourth grade and the year I turned 43 and I wasn’t wearing glasses, it was because I had contacts in…..period……or I was blind as a bat!

I wore a lot of different kinds of frames…..depending on the style at the time…..going through old photos is fun matching the glasses with the hair styles and fashions of the times!

Then…….in February 1999, I had Lasik surgery that corrected my eye sight to 20/20!!! I was FREE!!! What a gift……No more glasses……No more contact lenses……No more squinting even with the glasses or contact lenses!!!

The doctors at the time told me Lasik would not stop the normal aging of the eyes. I would eventually likely need at least readers at some point. I was 42 when I had the Lasik and they told me they under corrected one eye and over corrected the other to help prolong the need for readers as long as possible……at that time, they predicted maybe about 10 years. At that time, I was happy for any time I could get without being tethered to heavy, thick glasses on my face every waking hour of my life!

Well, that was 22 1/5 years ago!!! And, for the past 22 1/5 years, I have enjoyed seeing the world clearly without having to depend on corrective lenses to do so.

But, it is time…….I went for my annual eye exam last week and the doctor told me that I might want to start thinking about glasses. He said it was my choice and I’m not harming my eye sight by not wearing them, but I might find things are a bit clearer with them…..especially when reading or working on the computer. I admitted to him that I have noticed I’ve been squinting more lately than I have had to in years. I asked about OTC readers…..he said they’d be fine, but won’t take into consideration my astigmatism or help with my distance vision. I thought — I don’t have a problem with distance!!! But, that evening and the next day, I started to realize that I might…..I found myself squinting at the TV and things that I wanted to read at a distance……not bad, mind you, but enough that I decided he might be right!

So……off to America’s Best I went!!! With the help of a very nice girl at the store, I picked out two frames (they offer a “two-fer” deal) that I really liked and she agreed looked good on me (I picked out 5 or 6 possible pair and didn’t tell her which ones I liked best – I tried them all on for her and she picked the same 2 I did….confirmation at it’s best).

Then, I had some decisions to make about the lenses……my prescription was for bi-focals!!! UGH!!! But, what kind of bi-focals – lined or progressive – and did I want to go with the bi-focals or just get prescription readers were just a few of the many questions she asked me!!! Hell, I didn’t know!!! LOL It’s been 22 1/5 years since I had glasses and at that time, there wasn’t much choice – fill the prescription that was given to me or walk around in a blur! So, this very helpful young lady walked me through it all — the choices, how I thought I’d use them, what I do in a typical day, and so on. In the end, we decided to get one pair just for reading and the other pair with the no-line progressive bi-focal lenses. They have a 30 day guarantee — I can try them both for a few weeks to see what works best for me and if I can get used to the bi-focals (definitely an adjustment). If within those 30 days I decide to change one or the other so I have both readers or both bi-focals, I can go back and they’ll make whatever changes I need and either refund or charge the difference, as appropriate. Or, I can keep them as is.

So far, I am adjusting well to the bi-focals…..except for when I get up to walk around or turn my head to quickly, I get a tad dizzy and my desk top or floor looks like it is floating around on me – very strange…..but, I think I can adjust to them. I’ll use both over the next couple of weeks and decide what to do. The doctor said they are “as needed” only, so won’t need to wear them all the time……just when I need a little help reading or with computer work, etc. So, I’m thinking I’ll keep the readers in my purse for when I’m out and might need help reading something and keep the bi-focals at home for use on the computer, watching TV, etc. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m thinking that’ll work…..at least for now.

One thing I can say is that I am VERY happy with the way I can see so much clearer with them……reading is amazing……looking at the computer is awesome…….distance viewing is surprising (since I really didn’t think I needed help with that at all). Until now, I would have continued on thinking I could still go through life without glasses just fine…..and, technically, I could…..it’s just that now it’s just that much better!!! 🙂

So……here are my new glasses:

These are the readers only……the frames were my very favorite of the choices I picked out and the girl at the store immediately said she liked them best, too……AND……the frames are named “Kim”! LOL Guess they were made for me!!!

And, today, they just happen to also match my nail polish!!! LOL

These are the bi-focals……hard to tell from the photo, but they are a rose gold color – very nice!!! As much as I hated the idea of going back to glasses, I’m not really that concerned about wearing them……I’m actually happy with how they look and they feel quite comfortable. A fact of life….a part of getting older….today it’s glasses, next month I start medicare and turn 65……it’s all good!!! LOL

And, another good thing…..the cases they gave me for the glasses match the new fall/winter purse I bought myself the other day perfectly…..the lighting for this photo makes them look a little different, but they are actually almost an exact match in color!!!

So…….such is life……and I’m happy with my life, so I’m happy with this!!! Whatever I need to keep enjoying life to the fullest, I’m fine…….and on I go!!!