My Eyes
My eyes have treated me very well for 26 years. Despite my entire extended family needing to wear glasses or contacts, my eyes have always been there for me. My mother and sister both had to get glasses before their 10th birthday but when I was ten I had 20/15 vision. At 17, I could still pick out road signs way before anyone else in the car. I liked it that way.
They say that most people who now wear glasses can point to a specific moment when the realized that they couldn’t see as well as they thought. For me, it was at Safeco field while watching the mariners play about a month ago. I have clearly become accustomed to the lower service my eyes are providing my brain over the past few years because I thought that, while I can’t see as well as my 17 year old self, I was still doing fairly well. A few innings into the ball game however, I realized that I wasn’t sure where the mariners were in their lineup. A big tall figure stepped into the batters box and squared up to the pitcher in a way that made me know it was Richie Sexson, probably the most easily recognizable (from distance anyway) Mariner on the field. At this point I would have been satisfied with knowing who was up to bat and continuing on with the game if I hadn’t have been so concerned that it was such a struggle for me to make this determination. On closer inspection, to my horror I realized that not only could I not read the name “SEXSON” on the back of his jersey from my left field seat, I couldn’t even read the number 44 across his back without squinting. Ok, this is a problem, I realized.
For the rest of the game, and for the next couple of days I attempted to convince myself that my eyes had been out of focus not because they are going bad, but because it was night, I had drank a couple of beers, I had been looking at computers screens all day, etc. It hasn’t worked. I’ve finally admitted to myself that I’m about to join my rest of optically impaired family, by getting a pair (or two) of prescription glasses for every day use.
I have to admit, this makes me a little sad. I’ve always enjoyed not having to worry about glasses or contacts. At this point though I’m a bit hyper sensitive to my condition. It really bothers me to not see clearly and I’d rather have a pair of glasses to correct my vision, than to go on not being able to see.
I have an appointment for an eye exam at the University Vision Clinic next Thursday. For me, it can’t come soon enough - I want my eyes back!