I See

I got contacts today. After nearly 20 years of wearing glasses, it felt really, really strange to walk around (and drive) without my "face jewelry" (that's how I feel about my glasses). I felt like I was missing something.

Unfortunately, my eyes still haven't grown accustomed to the new lenses so I blinked a lot and had trouble focusing - for 6 hours. No wonder my eyes are tired.

I was nervous when I went in to get my contacts. I had to be retrained because it has been so long since I last wore them. But after a few attempts, I got them in. It worries me how much you have to pull on the delicate area around your eyes just to get the flimsy little things in. Age is already showing around my eyes - I really don't want to make it worse. And when good ol' Doc Williams talked about what I needed to do when I removed them tonight, I was surprised (though I hid it well) and a little scared. I hadn't thought about having to take them off. And clean them. And buy solution for them. And the wearing schedule for the first week. And after a week, try the other pair that he gave me. And then I have to buy them in a 6-pack twice a year (these are for 1 month use). When Todd and I talked about me getting contacts, I didn't think about all the work and worry they are. I had forgotten. At least I don't have to cook them anymore. That was a hassle.

So now I have even MORE things to do at night before I go to sleep. Sigh. The older I get, the more there is to do to maintain ... me. But, I went and bought new cheapo sunglasses today (instead of the expensive prescription ones I've been wearing for nearly a decade). And spent some time trying on reading glasses (yet another fun thing about being 45). My kids were giving me their extremely honest opinions and I spotted a lady in her 50's, watching us with a knowing smile. That will be me in 10 years!

Now, what is nice about reading glasses is that they have some really cool styles now. They are not your grandmother's reading glasses anymore! I guess because the baby boomers are now all in reading glasses, newer styles were called for. I tried on leopard spotted ones, cat-eye with gem stones, black with colored spots. I'm still looking. We've seen some zebra striped ones in a catalog, too. Decisions, decisions ...

A few weeks ago, when I told the kids I was getting contacts, my 7 year old lamented, "Mom, you'll look ugly with contacts!" I have no idea what she was picturing in her head but I think her fears are put to rest. My lenses are kind of blue and make my hazel eyes appear bluer. And she likes that.