New Glasses

I got my first pair of glasses in 2008 – the summer before starting Grade 12. Did I wear them at school that year? No. I was too afraid of people pointing and staring and asking, “Since when do you wear glasses?”

I convinced myself I could still read the board. I could, so long as I sat in the front row, or squinted if I was further back. Some classes were tougher than others.

Truthfully, I probably needed glasses in Grade 8, but I didn’t want the attention I thought glasses brought. I didn’t want to be the only one taking out a pair of glasses, just to see the board.

Silly, right?

I never wore my glasses in a school setting, until I got to university.

Looking back, I don’t know what I was so afraid of. It’s easy for me to say that now, of course. But, however I felt at the time, was how I felt at the time.

Last November, I went to the eye doctor and was told my vision had gotten slightly worse. I didn’t need new glasses, unless I wanted them.

I was still on my very first prescription with my first pair of glasses, purchased ten years ago. The glasses were still in style, not that I care about that, but they didn’t look out of place on my face.

That being said, I decided I’d just replace the lenses, immediately after the eye appointment since LensCrafters was right next door.

Maybe I was hungry for lunch, or blinded by eye drops, but once the appointment was over, I had no interest in getting new lenses. I convinced myself I could still see with my current pair of glasses.

Over the next three months, I slowly started realizing that numbers on the TV weren’t as sharp as they once were, and street names weren’t as clear from afar.

Again, I was giving myself excuses. Oh, maybe I’m just tired. Google says our vision can get blurry if we’re tired. I’m normally tired, so it makes sense.

Finally, a few days ago, I had enough. Sometimes it’s just time for something different.

I’ve told myself that this year is about, “fresh”, and “new”, and “reset”, and “power walking away from stubbornness”. Feel free to steal that last one.

So on Thursday, I went with my mom to get a new pair of glasses and sunglasses for the first time since 2008.

I am the easiest person to shop with because I’m decisive and know what I want as soon as I see it.

Before we left the house, I had picked out my new pair of glasses just by looking at their website. It took me less than two minutes. I wrote down the model number and off we went.

We get there and the glasses are nowhere to be found. Oh no. I don’t go shopping with back-up plans. If I have to resort to my back-up, it means I’m settling for something that wasn’t good enough to be Plan A.

After a few minutes of looking at ugly eyeglasses – seriously, the selection out there these days is brutal – the worker says he found them in a drawer!

Hallelujah! Good thing I wrote that model number down.

The frame came in black, or gunmetal silver. I had decided on the gunmetal silver at home, but black was winning me over. They came with rectangular lenses.

I went with the gunmetal silver. They were my first love.

Later on when we got home, my mom told me she had a dream the night before about “gunmetal silver” and she thought it was weird because she’d never heard that term before.

AND THEN LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER, I’M BUYING EYEGLASSES WITH A GUNMETAL SILVER FRAME.

My mom and I have always been able to read each other’s mind, so it wasn’t as shocking as the All Caps made it seem.

I’m leaving out a lot of the plot from my visit to LensCrafters. I was actually there for an hour and a half because there was some problem with the sunglasses and the prescription and computer software.

I don’t want to get into it. Everything worked out fine. I had multiple people assisting me because I’m a VIP, yeah you know me I was the only customer.

There was a point when they kept handing me different pairs of glasses to try. I probably broke a world record for, “Most pairs of foggy glasses from a store display, put on in one minute”.

And as soon as every pair went on my face, they had instant analysis. It was great, really.

I’m still trying to figure out if, “They don’t fit your head” is a fat joke, or not. Are they saying I have a big head, or are the glasses just small?

Either way, I’m still chuckling about it.

If you were expecting a photo of me wearing my new glasses – who do you think I am? That’s not happening. I don’t even have them yet.

For some reason, I’m having a hard time figuring out how to end this post – as if I can’t see the finish line. I’m not wearing my glasses; it must be too far away.

GET IT? BECAUSE I’M NEARSIGHTED.

Do you wear glasses? Where are my nearsighted people at? How long have you had glasses? Share your eyesight stories.

Written While Listening To: Sleeping Sickness – City & Colour