Seeing with New Eyes

Lately I've been feeling like there isn't as much beauty in the world as I remember. Flowers, trees, water, nothing's looked as good to me. Even Blu-rays, which shocked me with their clarity a few years ago, haven't really looked that special. Nothing's had an edge. I've been sort of depressed.
On top of that, I've had more headaches lately, which makes it tough to really enjoy anything.
A few weeks ago I made a late-night run to Taco Bell, which never loses its appeal. As usual, I wasn't sure what I wanted, but when I pulled up to the menu board, something crazy happened.
I couldn't read anything!
I had to just order from memory, which is tough to do at the hour of night when Grade F meat sounds delicious.
My wife suggested I may need glasses. Since I have been about four years old, I have had two major fears:
1. That I will need braces.
2. That I will need glasses.
Though billions of people around the world look normal wearing those two things, they terrify me. Glasses especially. I have always thought I would look so stupid wearing them, I would die on ocular contact.
I couldn't bring myself to make an appointment, so my wife finally did it for me.
I went to the doctor. My wife was correct. I am nearsighted.
So the moment of truth came. I figured if I had already paid for the eye exam, I might as well get the glasses the doctor prescribed me as well. My wife (and son) and I settled on some frames we all liked, and the next day I picked the finished glasses up around sunset. I walked back out to my car with the glasses in my hand, got in, and thought about throwing them out the window. I sat for a while and finally put them on my face. I suddenly felt the shocking sensation of putting clean goggles on under water. Leaves formed from bobbing verdant blobs. Clouds cut definite shapes through sharper blues than I could even remember. It was like I was in college again or something. Or as a friend and co-worker put it, it's like going from standard definition to HD.
Whatever the case, I sure am glad I got glasses. I wish I would have done this months ago. While I felt funny for about five minutes, I grew accustomed to my new appearance before I even went to bed that night. So my lesson for the day is (actually the last post kind of ended in a lesson, too, but anyway): if you think you may need glasses, go to Vision For Less. You won't spend much, and whatever you spend will be worth it.
You won't look stupid.

Comments

Neal said…
I'm a little scared that you realized you really couldn't see after driving somewhere. At night. Egads, man! No being stubborn, just get the glasses or whatever you need after this!

I do understand not wanting glasses, though. I can see maybe 5-6 inches in front of my face clearly, and I've been that bad since about 4th grade. The glasses I wore at that young age were just... ugly, too. So I switched over to contacts in junior high and only wore my glasses at night before bed. Be glad that glasses can look so much better nowadays... I feel like they are a good option, rather than being huge and ugly.

Still, contacts are somewhat more of a pain to put up with, though. I've not bothered with them in awhile, though I probably would want to get some again if I started playing more sports. I feel a lot more comfortable in my glasses, and I'm not playing a bunch of sports where I can collide with people anymore, either.

Welcome to the bespectacled club, sir.
Thanks for the welcome! I will be sticking with glasses, too! I can't even stand putting in eye drops let alone contacts!

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