Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Getting Old(er) Sucks

Most days I resolutely refuse to believe that I am getting old(er). Never mind that my oldest baby will be 19(!!!!) this month, and he moved out and joined the navy last year. I happily ignore the fact that potty training, pregnancy, morning sickness, and breast feeding are all well in the past. My hair is still blond, not grey, well except for the part that is red from my midlife crisis last year. I don't have too many wrinkles. I can zip my wedding dress, while wearing it. I can touch my toes, without bending my knees, thanks to yoga. Most of the time I feel pretty young.

Today I feel old. The why is a bit of a long story, so bear with me. Last year when I went in for my annual eye exam the Doc told me it was time for bifocals. ACK! Lasik anyone?? Being a complete chicken when it comes to surgery, especially on my eyes, I got bifocals. Thankfully technology has come a long way and now bifocals are "no-line" meaning that no one else can tell you are wearing bifocals so you don't have to look like an old granny.

It took me forever to get used to them, I tripped going up and down stairs, not a good thing when you are living in a 3rd floor walkup. When I turned my head the edges of my vision moved in an odd way that made me queasy. I had a hard time reading because I was used to looking straight at the page and moving my eyes. I needed to look down through the close up portion of the lens and move my whole head to follow the text, not my eyes. Finally though, after a few weeks though I got used to them, and it was nice to be able to see up close and far away with the same pair of glasses.

Last month I broke my bifocals. Grrr! I have been using my back up glasses, which of course are my old glasses from before I got the bifocals. The prescription is a little off, but it works fine for most things. Until today. I finally finished up piecing all the little quilt squares I inherited and I'm waiting for a shipment with the contrast fabric to arrive so I can finish the quilt top. Since I'm on a crafty kinda roll I pulled out one of the many other half finished craft projects, a cross stitch I started on home leave after Jakarta. It's very cute. Little mice with lemons and the saying: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" When I bought it I thought it would go perfectly in my kitchen, and it will if I ever finish it.

Back to the bifocals. I can't see the little holes in the Aida cloth with my old glasses on, but I can read the stitch chart. Without my glasses I can see the holes well enough to stitch, but then I can't read the graph. I am making progress but I have taken my glasses on and off about a thousand times today. I want my bifocals back. Sigh! I am so old. Maybe I should just give it up and get those little half glasses on a string. Then perhaps I could see well enough to craft, of course it would be hard to deny that I am getting old with a pair of granny glasses perched on the end of my nose.

4 comments:

Ovid said...

I'm also wondering if I should get Lasik or go with bifocals. One of my friends just took a quick trip over to Serbia because it's less expensive there (well, and she's Serbian). I should check the price of train tickets because your experience is telling me that I don't want the glasses.

Connie said...

I used to be extremely near-sighted. The good thing about it was, despite having glasses with extreme correction, I could take off my glasses and focus on very tiny things close up! Very handy with any type of crafting. Well, I had the Lasik when doctors finally agreed the technology could handle my prescription, and for the most part, I LOVE it... but, right after surgery, I instantly lost my natural super-close-up vision!! True, that was a 'symptom' of near sightedness, and I traded it for being able to see very well at a distance (20/20) and have a great 'normal' focus point, but years later, I still try to bring things close to my eyes to try and focus in on the tiny details. Unfortunately, about 4 inches from my eyes, instead of getting super clear like before, it just gets fuzzier. :( Now, I understand the need for owning a good magnifying glass, or bifocals, or reading glasses for tiny things!! The only other issues I've had with lasik is, after 40, I get glare/blur when driving at night, so my doctor gave me glasses with the tiniest bit of correction that I only wear when driving at night. I also get dry eyes more often than I ever did.

I've thought about getting one of those magnifying glasses on a flexible stand, maybe one with a light, to set up on my work stand. (http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6864&Category_Code=E00-00-00&Store_Code=NN) I don't need to focus closely often enough to want wear reading glasses, but it might be nice to have something handy when I want to thread a needle or untangle a knot.

Monica said...

hahahahahaha!!! i've had the granny glasses for about a year now. love them. bought some crazy colored ones at michael's for $2. they are a lifesaver. i wear them right on my head (like sunglasses) and i tell myself they are sexy. ;o) (in a granny-kind of way)

Shannon said...

Ovid - It is hard to believe we are old enough to need bifocals, honestly most days I don't feel much older than I did back in high school.

Connie- since this cross stitch is on very fine cloth I have had to use the lighted magnifying glass a few times to check my count to make sure I am on the right square. My mom has one that hangs around her neck when she is doing fine hand work.

Monica - ROFLMAO! I will get a pic this summer, one way or another!