Glasses again after 16 years

I got my first pair of glasses at 18 months of age (so mid 1967), to correct a lazy eye and wore them for a couple of years. Then I got a break until sometime after we moved to Texas (so between 1973-1976), when they noticed that I was so nearsighted that it made it hard to see the board at school.

I then needed a new pair of glasses pretty much every year growing up, as I gradually became more nearsighted. By mid high school I switched to contact lenses, and wore them until 1998, when I lost my dad but inherited enough cash to pay for LASIK surgery to fix my eyes, which had stabilised at a prescription of -7.5 diopters (so worse than most, but not all of my friends).

I have really enjoyed the subsequent 16 years of not needing glasses. After growing up nearsighted one never gets tired of waking up and being able to see, without reaching for glasses. One also never outgrows the habit of putting one's hand up to be certain that one's glasses don't fall off when looking over a cliff.

I guess that will once again be a useful trait. I started noticing some months back that after sitting at the computer for a number of hours I couldn't really see very well at other focal lengths. I finally got around to booking an appointment earlier this month, and the doc confirmed that I now need both distance glasses and reading/computer glasses.

They were able to order the distance glasses straight away, but explained to me that the University would provide me with computer glasses, since I need them for work. I didn't really expect the new glasses to arrive till January, given how many holiday days there are in the last half of December. However, much to my surprise, I got a text message yesterday saying they were ready.

This was great timing, since we had a couple of houseguests staying with us, who wanted to head to the city center to meet some friends. So I had them drive me in (in our car) and picked up my new glasses and sunglasses(which were on sale for half price if one bought glasses).

I remember a day when new glasses took some getting used to, as the ground was not really the same distance away at it suddenly looked. Luckily, my eyes aren't that bad yet, and I had no problems driving myself home. In fact, I suspect that I shall be less resistant to driving than I have been.

It is delightful to be able to read road signs at a reasonable distance and see trees at their proper crispness again. However, they really underscore the need for computer/reading glasses--I really need to take these off to see my sewing project--even seeing my phone screen (where I type now) goes better without the glasses.

Today is Julafton (Christmas Eve, the big day of celebration in Sweden), so this morning we dropped the house guests off at the bus station on their way to the home of the parents of one of them, and then we drove down to lord_kjar's parent's house. Also here this year are his oldest brother, with his wife and their three daughters (~7-14 in ages), and his youngest brother, with wife and son (~2 yrs old), which gives us eight adults and four kids (his other two siblings and their families are with their partner's families this year).

The littlest girl had been having fun playing with lord_kjar, but eventually got impatient and firmly suggested that he go change into the Tompten (Santa) costume as it was time for presents. However, as she was climbing on his back saying this she saw a face in the window and squeeled "Tompten!" and raced to the door to let him in so they could get their presents.

Even after four years in Sweden it still seems odd to me that Santa himself delivers the gifts in person to awake children. It was an iron-clad rule in our house that he wouldn't come unless we went to sleep; and how difficult it was to sleep when anticipating the morrow!