Boy, I really wanted to wear glasses. Lots of my friends were wearing them, and well, they just looked so cool...and that was before 'cool' was even cool. I would have said 'groovy', but I hadn't heard that word yet.
It wasn't that I needed them to see 'far off'...like I told the eye doctor, I'm farsighted, I can spot an eagle a mile away." He raised one eyebrow and winked at my Mother which made her feel better about thinking I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Surely she didn't know that 'far off' was actually called nearsighted or if you were the eye doctor...myopia.
So, on that first visit to the 'real eye doctor' where I proved my eagle eye far off vision was better than 20/20...whatever that meant...by reading his Big E which from across the hall was clear as a bell. However, my Mother's feeling of relief at being a remiss parent was short lived. The 'real eye doctor' confirmed I could not see my hand in front of my face.
The good news was that I needed glasses to correct my farsightedness/hyperopia. That didn't make sense to me. Didn't I just tell him I could see fine far off...it was 'up close' or near that everything was blurry....even the lines on my palm.
At any rate, I got to pick out a pair of those cute 'cat eye' glasses in brown with little dodads on the corner and ear piece. The eye doctor told my Mother I would need them only for reading and we could pick them up in a week.During that week I noticed that a lot more of my classmates wore glasses than I realized. In fact, just about everybody wore glasses...all the time. The clincher was seeing the Most Beautiful and Most Handsome students wearing glasses.
By the time we got back to Odessa and the Texas State Optical Bldg....which was about 55 miles away, and took over an hour at the 50 miles per hour speed limit...I had made up my mind to wear those 'cat eyes' every minute of every day. Never mind what the doctor said.
Wow...everything was so BIG! I looked in the mirror and my eyeballs were as big as saucers. The first clue those glasses were full blown magnifiers was when I stepped off the curb and fell flat on my face. It was weird how the street was so much farther down than it looked, but I picked myself up, straightened up my cat eyes and we hit the road.
The hour drive home was like a taking a ride on the Ferris Wheel and then getting on the Tilt-A-Whirl and then going into the House of Mirrors. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I threw up! That was clue number two, and all it took for those cute cat eyes to stay safely in the case until I needed to read. I was over wanting glasses!
So live, learn and wear 'Readers' around your neck, on top of your head, and on the end of your nose until your 'Eagle Eye Far-Off' vision puts your Farsightedness and Nearsidedness in a pair of glasses you wear all the time without falling on your face and throwing up! That's what I've been doing, although I still get 'far off' and 'up close' mixed up. I do not explain that to my real eye doctor.
Did you know that Cat Eye Glasses are back in style?
My real eye doctor has a Variety of Cat Eye Vision Wear!
However, he says I won't need them after I have my 'Cat ar acts' removed!
Go figure!
Hi Sue - I know they help so many people - we're lucky to live in an age when we can buy and wear them. I'm so lucky I don't need glasses, I've started wearing them for computer work and reading only in recent years .. but can get by without them. My aunt didn't need them either ... I have a friend who wears very smart ones .. and she always looks good .. they are things that go in and out of fashion .. and how great you're having your cataracts removed .. makes all the difference I gather .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYes, you are lucky to have not had to wear glasses. I have a special pair for computer work, too. Who knew that pixels would require a different magical lenses. I won't be getting cataract surgery for several years yet...thank goodness....I sure want a chance wear cat eye glasses...again...this time without falling on my face and throwing up.
DeleteThose cat-eye glasses are adorable. My current glasses are kind of rectangular. I have an astigmatism in one eye so I don't tend to wear my glasses unless I'm tired because my brain usually copes. I can tell when I need to put them on because my vision kind of ticks as my brain goes - coping ... not coping ... coping :) I'm getting to the stage where I need them for small things too now though :) Hope the cataracts removal goes well - my mother is having that done too.
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
Astigmatism was another vision term I could never get straight in my head. Now I think I could talk to my eye doctor about how it's a brain ticker....thanks for the explanation. My Mother had cataract surgery in her late 70's....I'm hoping it will be at least that much longer before I have to have those cat's removed. I wanna wear cat eye glasses again...all the time...this time will be fine.
DeleteWhat a cute post! I've seen those Cat Eye Glasses being worn, too cute!! My brother just has cataracts removed, oh my, he's in shock about how clear the world is to him now! You'll be seeing so clear, you'll be so happy! By the way, I love all of your background photographs, brings back memories of that time in our lives!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great Saturday!
Nancy
My Mother said the same thing after her cataract surgery. She said it was amazing how clear everything was, but she still was always looking for her glasses....out of habit. She felt like she wasn't completely dressed without them...and lipstick. I'll be okay with wearing my glasses for a good while yet...especially if I can get a new pair of cat eyes and a new tube of lipstick to match. I'm thinking bubble gum pink!
DeleteOh yes, those cat-eyes are back! And the Sally Jessy Raphael (aka birth control glasses) ones are on their way in too. My husband has worn glasses since 4th grade. After his cataract surgery and the new lens, he needs glasses only for reading (his astigmatism prevents him from being totally glasses-free). I never wore glasses until I reached "that age," and now I need them in order to eat! I'd probably slice my finger off if I didn't.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably miss my mouth!
DeleteI'm trying to get used to bifocals now. It's not working out well (on 2nd pair of glasses, 4th pair of multifocal contacts). Oh to have 10 year younger eyes, and just be blind in one way, not 2 ways.
ReplyDeleteAt least you can wear contacts. I tried, but the '2 ways' met in the middle...of my nose...'Crosseyed Sue' did not work! Ten years younger eyes, huh? That would put me back in tri-focals...nope...I'll hang with progressive lenses. Good luck with your bifocals....are they cat eyes?
DeleteOh what memories your post brought to my mind! I started wearing "cat-eyes" when I was 10 and now, at 62, have come full circle as my last pair of glasses are, again, cat-eyes with bi-focals. I cannot wear contacts and am not a candidate for RK surgery...it's glasses until they throw dirt in my face! lol
ReplyDeleteLOL...til they throw dirt in your face! You'll be stylin' at the Pearly Gates!
DeleteI absolutely do know that cateye glasses are back in style. I have a pair of Prada frames that people adore - I get compliments all the time. If you check out the auction sites, those retro frames bid up high.
ReplyDeleteYes, your Prada frames are sooooo cool. Loved the glasses collection on your header, too. I have checked out the retro frames on Ebay and other auction sites. Sure makes me wish I had saved my first ones.
DeleteI memorized the school eye chart so managed to "pass" for a couple of years. By third grade, it was too bad and mom kept seeing me squint. Sure enough the cat's eye glasses and the name Four Eyes. I hated them, but needed them. In college I did do contacts, but ultimately my eyes were just always too irritated. Nowadays, the technology has made glasses cool - my thick coke bottles aren't so bad. My astigmatism is horrific. But thank goodness for glasses or I'd be the village idiot sitting in a corner.
ReplyDeleteI was the opposite. I could see up close, but not far off. By the time we realized there was a problem and mom took me to the eye doctor, I had learned to recognize friends from far off by the way they walked and carried themselves. When I first put my new glasses on, I was amazed to be able to see individual leaves on trees from a distance! But I hated glasses. Hard to be active and keep them on your face. So after about a year, I switched to hard contacts. And wore them until I started staying at home with children. Then I switched back to glasses to save money. Now days, I only wear my glasses to drive. But I am starting to have a little trouble seeing up close. So, will probably have a pair of readers for work before too long.
ReplyDeleteVisit me at: Life & Faith in Caneyhead
I am Ensign B of Tremps' Troops
with the A to Z Challenge
I've been lucky and never needed glasses, though like you, I went through a phase of really wanting them. At an eye appointment a couple of years ago I learned I have an eyeball freckle (it has a technical name, but it's basically just a freckle in your eyeball). I needed some more regular check ups to make sure it wasn't anything serious (like you would with a mole on your skin), but it's cool.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but check out glasses when I'm near an optician though, just so I know what I'd choose if I needed them. ;-)
Cait @ Click's Clan
Oh man. I wish I could see things that are far away! I'm so nearsighted at this point that I can barely see my hand in front of my face much less something across the hall :( LASIK is probably in my future... Almost through the month! Hang in there, oh wHooligan!
ReplyDeleteHello there.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I've probably been wearing glasses since age 5. I did indeed have a pair of cat eye glasses and very proud of them I was! My eyes are bad. I have the onset of cataracts. I should be in tri-focals, but for now, I'm getting by with my super strong bi-focals. I can't wear contacts because I have very sensitive eyes. I used to wear glasses just for reading, but I just keep them on all the time now. I wear transitions so no RX sunglasses needed either.
Thanks for sharing.
Entrepreneurial Goddess
That was a fantastic story. But I can't imagine wanting to wear glasses so much. I've been wearing glasses sinse I was in school, and I'd give quite a few things not to wear them. But well... :-)
ReplyDelete@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter - Roaring Twenties
I wore bifocals from the time I was four years old. My son got bifocals when he was 9l. They are not for "old cats." Some people have eyes that focus differently when looking at different distances. The best thing to do is to wear your glasses as prescribed by the eye doctor. Even drug store reading glasses may not be right for your eyes.
ReplyDeleteDoris Gibbs @ Moody Eyes