Childhood Reminiscing Session #4: I Can See Again!!!

When I was little, I gave myself the impossible goal of having perfect eye sight for the rest of my life.  All of my siblings had gotten contacts and glasses by the time they reached middle school, and I was determined to be the one child in the family to maintain 20/20 vision.  I wouldn't have to worry about where I sat in the classroom.  I could avoid the pain of getting something caught in a contact lens.  I would be the only kid in my family who could trim their bathroom use down each morning and evening by 30 seconds because I didn't have to put/take contacts in or out of my eyes.

But fate has a way of delivering blows and, unfortunately, I am not immune.  At the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, my siblings and I went to our annual appointments with the optometrist.  My sisters told me to read the sign across the street from the doctor's office.  I realized that I could only make out the letter L in a long line of letters and words.  I brushed it off, though, concluding that the sign was too far away for people even with 20/20 vision to see.  When my turn came up to see the doctor, I was still in complete denial.  I walked into his office ready to blow him away with how well I could read the letters on the sign in front of me.  But as I sat down in the chair and I looked through that strange contraption they usually put in front of your face at eye appointments, even I understood that my eye sight had gotten worse.  The bottom two lines looked fuzzy and I had difficulty reading off the letters when he asked me to.  After going through a series of tests, the optometrist pronounced those fateful words:  "You need glasses."  Dumbfounded, I walked out of his office to try out a pair of contacts, avoiding the smug looks on my siblings' faces.  After trying and failing several times to get them to stick, the doctor's assistant had to help me put the contacts in.  Glasses were ordered, contacts were shipped, and I joined the throng of people who have to live out the remainder of their lives with eye problems. 

Feeling blue, I hopped into the Suburban to head back home with the rest of my family.  As I stared out the window and looked at the trees and buildings flashing past, I found that I could see things that I didn't even realize I hadn't been able to see before.  I saw the outline of leaves on trees.  I could read road signs that were far away.  When I arrived at my first class that Monday, I realized that I didn't have to squint to see the board.  Though I didn't achieve my goal of perfect vision, I witnessed the miracle that is eye sight correction.  My eye sight has steadily worsened over the years and every time I get a new prescription, I get to witness the miracle all over again.  "It's a miracle!  I can see again!"

(This post may contain hints of sarcasm.)