Walnuts on My Windshield
Friday, September 16, 2005

I can see clearly now, sometimes.

When I got my last pair of glasses four years ago (at age 40), I was told that because I am near-sighted, I was in luck; I wouldn't need bifocals till I was 46! For the past two years, I have struggled with glasses that needed to be bifocal but weren't and eyes that needed to focus but wouldn't.

I was still planning to wait till next spring to get new glasses. After all, they are expensive and we have plenty of other ways to spend our money. Last month, while Scott and Jessica were in China and Katie was at Grandma and Grandpa's house in North Little Rock, the boys and I decided to go swimming one evening after supper. It being August, some of the trees were starting to drop leaves, and it was getting dark by about 8:00 PM. Summer was definitely fading, but the temps were still miserably hot.

We got to the swimming hole about 7:00 PM on a Friday night and there was NO ONE there! I was totally surprised. Usually there are lots of people there camping and swimming, but it was very quiet, calm, and peaceful. I carefully removed my swim cover-up, laid it on the gravel and placed my glasses on top of it. I dropped my towel beside the cover-up and headed into the refreshingly cool, still water.

We swam for a few minutes, but it was overcast and getting dark pretty quickly. It was kind of eerie feeling, and after about thirty minutes, I told the guys it was time to go. I picked my way up the rocky shore to my towel and dried off. Then I bent down to pick up my glasses, which were right where I had left them, on the cover-up. However, there was a problem. A boy's sandal was lying on my cover-up, and the glasses were in two distinct pieces. The left earpiece was broken off right at the joint.

Now I may be pre-menopausal, overly emotional, foggy-brained, and forgetful, but I am quite sure that those glasses had been in one piece half an hour earlier. I asked the boys if they knew what might have happened, but they did not. There was that sandal . . . and I knew who wore that size. I was becoming a bit angry, and I urged them to the van. I balanced my glasses my nose and right ear and drove home. While the guys were getting ready for bed, I reviewed the situation: The next day, Saturday, I had to drive four hours to pick up Katie. Sunday, I had to drive three hours church and group. I couldn't drive without my glasses. Something had to be done immediately. I did what any stressed-out mom would do: I pulled out the Super Glue!

After working with the frames (which I couldn't see clearly without my glasses!) for quite a while, I finally got them lined up and stuck back together. Although they fell apart three times, on the fourth try, they held. I was thilled! As it turned out, they stayed together through the Saturday trip south, the two Sunday trips north, and one more trip to Springfield Monday morning to visit Eyemasters. After significantly more than one hour, I was able to get two pairs bifocals plus an eye exam for an amount of money that is definitely not mentioned on their TV ads.

I really like the look of my new glasses. They are slightly smaller than my old ones and sort of oval-ish, with burgundy steel frames. I think they look both bookish (truly me) and sassy (not usually me). They make a statement that says something like, "I'm Patty and I want you to take notice of me." So that is fine, but of all the people I know and see regularly, only five have made ANY comment about my new glasses. Andrew gets the most points, because when I first walked in the door, he said, "Wow, Mom! I love your new glasses! They are beautiful!" Katie took one look and gave me her crooked smile that means, "I don't like them, but I am too polite to say so and too honest to say what I really think." Josiah did not notice them till I pointed them out to him a couple days later. He said, "Oh, Okay." I did warn Jessica and Scott via email that I would look different when they got home. Jessica said, "I see you have new glasses." Scott said something like, "You have new glasses."

Oh, well. I suppose it doesn't really matter if anyone else notices them or likes them. The main thing is that I can now see well most of the time! I no longer have to take my glasses off to read, which is what I had been doing religiously for the past year. A side effect of that procedure was that I was forever leaving them somewhere and therefore constantly seeking them. At one point I had even bought one of those (pardon me) little old lady neck chains to keep from losing them, but my ummmm, endowment caused the glasses-around-the-neck thing to be a bit too bouncy at times.

My brother, who is younger than me but whose eyes merged to bifocals earlier than mine, warned me that stairs would be dangerous and should be navigated with great care. I have not had any trouble with stairs, but learning to tip my head down all the time, when, as a short person, I am generally accustomed to looking up, has been challenging. Besides that, failing to heed the scriptural admonition ("look up, for your redemption draweth nigh") also has a tendency to breed extra chins, which does not help my "sassy" image!

The only real problem with my new glasses is that they clearly point out the fact that there is a significant part of life that focuses at neither 12 inches nor infinity. Some things that fall into this mid-range and hence "fuzzy" category are recipes on kitchen counters, books on library shelves, weeds in gardens, keys on computer keyboards, and numbers on van speedometers. Yes, I do realize what this means (sigh). Both my parents wear trifocals, but trust me, we are not going there for a LONG time!

Quote of the Week:

"If we work on marble, it will perish; if on brass, time will efface it; if we rear up temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and imbue them with principles, with the just fear of God and the love of our fellow men, we engrave on those tablets something that will brighten to all eternity." ~ Daniel Webster

From My Book Pile:

I have been working for MONTHS to get through The Stamp Act Crisis, a book that I'm really glad I read. It took me so long because I haven't had much time to read lately; only a few minutes in bed before I fall asleep. This book gave a balanced explanation of the 1765 Stamp Act, which was a prelude to the Revolutionary War. Of course, in the US, we are all taught that the patriots were right and England was wrong. These authors (a husband and wife team by the name of Morgan) referenced many previously unpublished letters and journals to show both sides of the story in a balanced way. I tend to look back at famous persons as, well, famous persons, and I often fail to realize that at the time that they did what they are now remembered for, they were just normal people! They may have been stellar in one area, but not necessarily in all areas. The Stamp Act Crisis forced me to think through issues like allegiance to one's country (in this case England), and it also made me wonder what we "normal" people in 2005 may be remembered for in a couple hundred years!

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