#80- Glasses

I was at a fast food restaurant the other day and the most amazing, miraculous thing happened; I could finally stand at the counter without climbing halfway over it just to see the menu options on the wall. I didn't have to squint or crane my neck to see the prices and then look to see the cashier giving me a look that said "Why do I always get the weirdos?"

Nope, I could see clearly now and it was all because I had my new glasses on.

My eyesight has slowly been getting worse and worse over the last three or four years to the point where I had to sit at the front of the class not because I really enjoyed the topic, but because if I didn't, the notes would be a big smudge on the board or projector.

I guess it had gotten so bad that when I went into the optometrist to get my eyes looked at a few weeks ago this was the conversation I had with the doctor:

Her: "Did you drive here?"
Me: "No, I took the bus."
Her "Thank  God! (After looking at my startled expression) There is no way you could see any of the road signs."

So I took a trip to the glasses store and now I can see a whole world I haven't been able to enjoy for a few years. Now everything takes on a more intense colour, an exciting sharpness, like a bold statement to my eyes. I can see words written on shop windows and the detail on clothes and fruit and other such random things. But it's the random things that make this world come alive many times. It is seeing these everyday objects in a different way that makes me smile and give a little laugh, like it really is some miracle.  

And I can thank my new glasses for giving me this second look at life, a fresh opportunity to experience things. It is like I am looking at some things for the first time, like the familiar has become the unfamiliar, like I am exploring the city for the first time. It's exhilarating.

For me, observation is one of the greatest strengths and experiences I have. Observing the world around me is a key ingredient for me in the things I am passionate about, like writing and traveling. So now that I have my glasses I can do these things even better and look quite distinguished while doing it.

So I am grateful for my glasses. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to have my glasses because many who need them don't have the opportunity to get them. I am grateful for the way they have opened my eyes to an entirely different world and that they keep give me a second chance to see things I have already experienced, which doesn't come along every day. And I am grateful I can see the world again with all its little phenomena and flaws that make it so amazing and exciting.