It might be accidental that Diana Prince is gazing appreciatively at me from the Wonder Woman calendar behind me. This is the first photo of me wearing prescription glasses.

Some of you, like my wife and my father, have worn glasses most of your lives. (I recall a story from my Dad’s childhood in which he couldn’t recognize his own father without glasses.) This wasn’t the case with me; I’ve had “perfect” (20/20 or better) vision since my earliest tests. But now... Now I’m experiencing age related changes in visual acuity — commonly called “as I get older, I can’t see as well.”

I don’t remember when I first noticed it, but I suppose it was after moving here to Killeen. While I’ve never been able to focus on very close objects, I noticed that I need to hold things farther away in order to focus completely. A few years ago, I bought a pair of non-prescription magnifying glasses over-the-counter because I couldn’t even see to extract a splinter from my own finger (when I held it far enough away to focus, the splinter was too small to be seen). Since then, I’ve donned those glasses any time I needed to read fine print or get a splinter out of a child (or myself). I was still fine reading books and the computer screen.

But within the past two years, I’ve lost more closeup vision. Now I can’t read a book at a comfortable distance if the print is smaller than normal. Even the computer monitor (at arm’s length) is no longer perfectly in focus.

So I asked my wife to add me to her vision insurance, and then I scheduled my first-ever adult eye exam. The results, visible in the photo on this page, were meaningless to me at first — because I’ve never done this before. I’ve since searched and read all about it. To be honest, I was surprised I wasn’t given a 20/20-corresponding score. Insurance covered everything except the high-definition photo they made of my retinas (sadly, I was not given copies of these, which are impressive). The glasses came in six days later, along with a sturdy protective springloaded clamshell case.

A copy of my prescription. Basically it means I have a slight degree of farsightedness. Click the image to see a larger version.

When I put them on, the difference was noticeable (as one would expect), but not significant — because my vision hasn’t gotten horrible yet. For example, even with the glasses I still can’t focus on anything three inches away (like my wife can without glasses). My corrected minimum focus distance is about 12 inches (30cm), which is what it used to be uncorrected. The glasses are sharply effective out to about three feet (1m), and get less effective as the distance increases. (As I type this, I’m looking up at books about eight feet away and I can fuzzily read most of the titles; without the glasses, I can read all of them easily.) But these are only meant for reading — books and computer screens. I have to remove them to drive or walk down the sidewalk.

I had the option (free) of getting bifocals so I could wear them all the time, but I decided I wasn’t ready for that. Not being accustomed to glasses, I’ll give myself a year or two with these, wearing them only when I read or write, and then decide again whether I’m ready to be spectacled full-time.

I’m aware of how all this must sound to those of you who have worn glasses for decades. I realize I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. I know I’m the newest member of the club. One of the most surprising things to me, which is probably old hat to most of you, is how things are shaped differently. “You’ll get used to it after a while”, my wife assures me. For example, my computer monitor is no longer rectangular; it’s some sort of trapezoid, with the left side taller than the right side. Lines of text in the book I was reading yesterday were curved. In truth, the lines of text were always curved, due to the way I’m holding the pages, but my eye/brain combo had straightened the lines. Now the combo has an additional element and it will take a while for my brain to adjust.

And now, a few photos of the glasses themselves.

The glasses in the protective case.

Just the spectacles.

Inside one of the arms.

There is little other family news. I’ve had a bunch of rambunctious dreams lately, which I can only remember for a few seconds after I wake. It’s been warm here: nights in the 60s, days in the 70s, but that’s changing today, as I write this. Benjamin is about to cross the threshhold into reading; he is trying harder than his sister did at the same age. (She is now reading on at least a fourth grade level.) Last night, he read more than 50% of the words in the Peppa Pig books I guided him through. The Dodge Neon made it past the state inspection for another year (surprising almost everyone). I finished painting the office, so it’s now only a matter of willpower for this to become a child’s bedroom (I will no longer have an office).