At your 40th birthday party it’s all balloons, cake and over-the-hill jokes but as soon as the party is over, it’s just you and your new wrinkles to face another day. You’re over forty, how did that happen?
Being in your 40’s has advantages. You’re almost old enough for the senior special at your local diner and teenagers begin opening doors for you and calling you Ma’am. The 55+ community down the street starts sending you flyers with move-in specials; and you actually begin to read them. You’re considered “experienced” and no longer have to dig out your ID out when buying wine or beer.
However, one thing happens. It’s not your knees cracking or the pain in your hip that you can’t brush off as an old sports injury. So, what is it?
Your eyesight starts to go.
For example…
“Can you read the menu?” I asked my friend.
“Um, yup.” She answered. She was 37 at the time. Just a baby.
“It doesn’t look blurry to you?”
“No.”
“That’s weird. Mine is blurry. Can I use your menu?”
“Sure.”
“Funny, yours is blurry too. Hmf, weird.”
The print on paper becomes fuzzy. So you begin to preform closer and farther away exercises.
Closer = Blurry — Farther Away = Clearer.
Your biceps actually begin to burn and you tell yourself it was an isolated incident. It must be that piece of paper. However, that particular piece of paper turns out to be menus, medicine bottles, shampoo and your kids homework assignments.
Another example…
“Mom, how much medicine will work for me?” asked a sniffling Brad.
“Um, let me read the bottle, hold on,” I answered.
At this point, I realized I couldn’t read the dosage on the bottle of cough syrup. I just stood there for a moment and looked at the bottle.
“Mom?”
“Uh, yes honey….just a minute.” I pumped my arms back and forth and couldn’t get the letters to focus. “Where’s your magnifying glass you got from Santa last year?” I asked.
“Why?”
“Don’t ask.” I sighed. Acceptance was beginning to take root.
When anything new happens to our bodies we need coping skills. Kind of like when you’re pregnant and your shoe size went up 1/2 a size. We coped by knowing we’d get to buy new shoes after giving birth. What woman wouldn’t like that?
Here are a few coping skills to deal with your new eyeballs:
- Look at reading glasses as a fashion statement or accessory. They do help with the “I am more sophisticated and intelligent now that I am 40” vibe.
- Continue to stay in denial. Increase the font on your phone and tablet computer or ask your kids to read stuff. It’s good for their grades to practice reading.
- Your new wrinkles will magically disappear with each passing day. Why? Because you won’t be able to see them while putting your make up on.
Good thing the eyes on the back of our head developed during pregnancy don’t get blurry. They become sharper as our kids age. Funny how that works isn’t it?
Well the deterioration of your eyesight is pretty much inevitable. Which is unfortunate but it is a part of life. I’m just glad that we have technology that will help us correct our eyesight.