Dime Store Glasses, Part 1

I was fortunate to have 20/20 eyesight until I reached my forties. Then I began a torturous metamorphous.

Very subtly, yet methodically, my ability to focus deteriorated. The condition is called Presbyopia. You can read about it here, here, and here.

The short of it is that the lens in the eye becomes rigid (loses its elasticity) and may involve muscle atrophy as well. All who reach middle age will experience this aging phenomenon to some degree.

My first response was defiance and holding my reading material at arms length. When my arms grew too short, I purchased a pair of drug store reading glasses. (That’s what I call them.) They are available in little kiosks similar to the ones that display sunglasses.

Magnification begins at .5 and can increase as high as +600. That last one is denial at its apogee.

I accepted defeat early on and signed on for my first pair of prescription glasses. They were no-line bifocals that induced seasickness when I descended the stairs. I adjusted.

Now I wear no-line trifocals. They have a sweet spot for close reading, another to see my computer screen, and a third to see people’s faces more clearly across my desk. Nevertheless, I still peak over the tops of the lens like an old librarian.

I haven’t succumbed to purchasing eye glass necklaces – but, it is most certainly the next step. I take my glasses off to see distant objects, and then I forget where I put them.

I still have a pair or two of drug store reading glasses hiding somewhere around the house – just in case I can’t find the ones I am looking for.

At least I haven't left mine on the trunk of the car as the hubby did his glasses. We found them down the street smashed to smithereens.


My brother Mike and his wife Tami suffer the same vision loss, but have even more problems keeping track of their eye wear. I'll be telling on them soon.

Watch for Dime Store Glasses, Part II later this week.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Boy, do I relate to this post!!
ChrisB said…
Oh dear should I admit to having my specs on a chain as I can see up close for reading and computer but not distances as in across the room for TV.
I've had glasses since I was 9, and my eyes get worse every year. There have been some days where I take my glasses off one place and literally cannot see them to pick them up again. I've actually had to enlist the help of other people to find them.

I'd love to have laser surgery, but every optometrist I've seen says my eyes are so bad, it's not worth the risk. Apparently the more awful your vision, the more likely something could go wrong with the procedure.

Bummer.

In any event... glad you at least made it to 40! That's something to be happy about, though I'm sure it is nevertheless a difficult adjustment.
Anonymous said…
I have the same problem with my brain. I can never remember where I left it.
Mary said…
Gosh, middle age is just a barrel of fun, isn't it? :)

Thanks for your kind comments on my blog!
Mary
Anonymous said…
I love that phrase "when my arms grew too short". It makes me laugh whenever I hear it.
Amanda said…
I hope I don't inherit this problem. Lord knows I got enough of the other ones. Ugh. I'm sorry your eyesight has gona so downhill ma.
Susie said…
I wear no line trifocals also. Bill used to wear the reading glasses until he had his cataract surgery. Now his vision is so improved he can often read without glasses..
Lucky him!
BarnGoddess said…
Ive worn glasses since 2nd grade :(

I want lasik surgery.

Left them on top of your car? oops!
Anonymous said…
Don't get me started on my contacts or glasses......I want LASIK
katy said…
LOL my arms got too short too!
Anonymous said…
I had Lasik surgery 6 years ago and it was the best thing I've ever done for myself. It won't last forever of course, but I've decided when I do start wearing glasses again I want the coolest bead things to hold them with!
Unknown said…
Wow, why the heck did it take so long to load your site that I nearly forgot my comment? Weird.

I once put my glasses on the hood of the car, forgot they were there - I only wear them to drive - and when we started to leave the house I yelled for my husband to stop and my glasses slid off the hood and onto the gravel driveway. :(
Robinella said…
I wear contact and glasses for distance viewing however, I am approaching the long-armed reading dilema myself.

My Mom buys the dime store glasses too for the very reason you do and my sister and I counted all the ones we could find lying around her house and she had 18 pairs. Who knows how many she has stashed in case she loses the other 18. ha
Anonymous said…
My eyesight deteriorated back in my 20's. Without my contacts, I think I may be legally blind. Not kidding!
Susie Q said…
I have worn glasses since I was 10. I have taken them off for something, laid them down and poof. They vanish! I can't see them without them. They are pretty stable now, not much change for a long while but I have more trouble seeing up close. Gee, how could that be...I am not old enough for that to happen am I/ Wait! Don't answer that!

Hugs,
Sue
Anonymous said…
my dad is having the same issue i have been pestering him for years to go to an actual eye doctor to get decent glasses
Anonymous said…
I not only have the bi-focals, but I have the chains.
If you want a real challenge..try the stairs with the lined lenses.
tlawwife said…
I so hear you. When I complain my husband and eye doctor who have worn glasses all of their lives do that little my heart bleeds for you thing.

What I think is funny is that my husband takes his glasses off to read now even with the trifocals.
dieter said…
I only began using glasses at 49 and then like now keep forgetting to wear them. It's little wonder I type like I am dyslexic and get tension headaches.I have a pair of those ''drugstore spec''also.I think its time to get my peepers checked again.Why do they make the print on my meds so small? when i was much younger i did not worry about fine print, but then i did not need to read med labels as often.
my4kids said…
My mother needs the neck holder for hers. She went on a hike with a friend last week and while taking off a sweater she set them on her backpack and forgot to put them back on. Now we are sure a furry little squirrel is running around with some very nice $600 glasse!
Molly said…
I read Dime Glasses Part 2 first. Our vision history is similar. I love my progressive trifocals; they allow me work at my computer, read shelves at the library, drive down the street. I have worn the dime store glasses, but they only allow me to read books, maps, and menus. The prescription lens allow me to see almost everything clearly.
Unknown said…
Omg, I totally relate. I turned 40 and it was like someone flipped a switch. Over the next year my arms grew shorter. Then 18 months after my 40th birthday? I broke down and went to the eye doctor for prescription reading glasses.

I'm still defiant about reaching for them. I try to read without them. Some days my eyes aren't so bad. Other days? I can't read anything without them.

Ageing physically - bites.

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