In and Out of Focus

I am now officially old. When I went to the eye doctor last week she suggested reading glasses. In addition to my regular bifocals.

I've worn glasses since 6th grade and am legally blind without them. But lately I've noticed a hard time reading. I thought it was the bifocals and the fact that I need to hold both the book and my head in this perfect alignment of planets in order to see the pages. But no, turns out I need reading glasses too.

To save money I just brought in a pair of old frames and asked them to put new lenses in. So today they were ready and I now have the problem of switching between two pairs of glasses. I refuse to become one of those crazy old ladies with pearl glasses holders and eyeglasses hanging down her bosom. But I'm not sure how to live with the two pairs.

I can read with my regular glasses, so I don't need to carry two pairs, luckily. But for long reads, I guess I'll just have to get used to putting on the new specs and taking off the old ones...and remembering where the bifocals are because I can't see very well with the reading glasses beyond a foot or so.

When I tried them on in the doctor's office my first thought was "they gave me the wrong glasses." Everything was fuzzy. But then the guy handed me a card with writing on it and the world became clear. Vivid. Wildly vivid. Suddenly words on a page were jumping out at me as if animated.

I predict a series of headaches while I get used to them. First off looking at a book is now like looking at something under a microscope -- it's so clear and perfect that it almost hurts the brain. Too much stimulation. Plus whenever I look away, I can't see a damned thing. But I think it'll be nice to go back to marathon, multi-hour reading sessions without feeling like I need a magnifying glass.

Yeah, I'm old. But it's better than the alternative.

In other news I went to the local Apple store and found out that it will cost over my limit to get my laptop fixed. Before going in I decided if it cost over "X" then I'd just bite the bullet and get a new one. So I'm getting a new one. Luckily I have many friends who work there who can get me their discount, so within the next week I expect to be a technocrat again. It's been lovely of Husband to let me use his, but I want my own back.