I Can See Clearly Now?

I picked up my new glasses on Tuesday and they are going to take some getting used to.

I wore glasses from 4th grade right up until I had Lasik surgery about 20 years ago. My eyes were bad. Without them, everything was a blur. The Lasik surgery was more than I could have imagined! Amazing is an understatement.

The doctor who did my surgery had told me that there might be the possibility that I’d need reading glasses in the future. Sure enough, he was right. I guess I have been wearing them for about a year or two. I also found the need to have a pair for distance, mainly while driving. So I had a pair in the car and I carried a pair on me for reading.

In the last few months, I have felt my vision get a little worse, and I was overdue for an exam. This time I went to an eye place (last time I just went to Walmart). The exam was very thorough. I was pretty amazed at the stuff they were able to see. The showed me my optic lens, the back of my eye, and various other things. I was impressed.

When the doc came in we played the “which is clearer” game, where he makes one view blurrier than the other. He tweaked my prescription and gave me my options. The first option I was given was to carry two pairs of glasses again – one for reading and one for distance. I really didn’t want to deal with that again. The other option was to wear progressive lenses.

I’ve heard my share of stories about how difficult progressive lenses are to get used to. A co-worker had literally just taken hers back because she could not get used to them. I really wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to attempt them. The doc told me that I usually takes about a weak and he thought that was the better choice.

Progressive lenses are different from bifocals or trifocals. With progressive lenses, you position your eyes where you need them depending on what you are doing … if that makes sense.

If I am driving, I look through the upper part of the lens. For things at arms length, I look through the middle of the lens. For reading, I look through the bottom of the lens. But as you can see from the above picture, if you look toward the sides, you get a “fishbowl” or “hourglass” effect. That is the hardest part of seeing through them.

There are some things I have to take them off for. When I am doing a set up on a patient, I take them off because I am constantly looking up and down. I’m not quite used to that yet. I am sure it will get better.

It is much easier to see things while driving, which is a bonus! I have yet to sit and try to read a book with them, so we’ll see what happens with that.

I hope the adjustment process gets, if you’ll pardon the pun, progressively better!

No Shave November & Squinting

It’s been some time since I participated in No Shave November. I’ve had a goatee since the late 90’s. The goatee came about because of a car accident. I was hit head on and broke my collar bone in the accident. I didn’t shave for a month and when I was finally able to, I wanted to see what the goatee looked like. I liked it, and I’ve had it ever since.

I guess it was about 2002 that I first decided to see what the full beard looked like. I grew it in November and shaved it off in January. I did that for a few years and eventually stopped. Some people said it made me look old, mean, and scary! Ha! I was happy not growing it out any more, because trying to get through the first week or two of it coming in drove me crazy! It is so itchy!

At any rate, around Halloween, Sam suggested that I grow it out, just to see if she liked it. So here we are 20+ days later and it’s coming in. I will never let it become a “Duck Dynasty” beard, but I will keep it trim. One difference this time around is that I’ve been shaving my head. So I am bald on the top and now have the beard. I’m still getting used to the way it looks. I’ve always liked the way a beard looked, but with the shiny top, it looks a whole lot different.

I highly doubt I’ll let my beard grow as long as this guy’s…

Another difference this time around is that there is a LOT more grey in my beard. So much that I actually thought of getting that beard color! I won’t buy it, but I thought about it! The baby will look at me funny and rub her hands on the beard trying to make sense of just what the heck is on my face! Sam says she likes the way it looks. I will probably shave it off again after the holidays, like I used to, but for now it stays.

If I could, for a joke, I’d do my mustache like this guy …. but then, I’d probably be sleeping on the couch….

Getting Old

The grey beard makes me look older. Sometimes when I see it, it makes me feel older. You know what else makes me feel older? My eyes. I am finding myself squinting a lot lately!

I had Lasik surgery years ago. I was told that when I “got older” I might need reading glasses. It was one thing that the surgery at the time couldn’t fix. I have noticed lately that as I am working it is hard to read the patient charts. I am also finding it difficult to read my Bible. I have these dumb readers, but I guess I am going to have to finally cave in and go get my eyes checked.

The last time I had them checked was probably 5 years ago. They mentioned something that they wanted to “keep an eye on” and perhaps whatever it was is now a problem. I’m really hoping it is just something that prescription readers can take care of. We’ll see…

Well, well, well. Look who’s back…

back

This is my first blog since May 18th. I guess this is the longest I have gone between blogs and many have sent private messages wondering if I am doing okay. My good buddy, Max, sent an email asking about me and it took me a while to write him back. Knowing I work in the medical field, and knowing how often I blog, he feared the worst. Needless to say, he was relieved to hear back from me. I figured if folks were worried if I was still around, I’d take some time to write.

It is not that I haven’t had stuff to write about, because I certainly have. I guess I was just having a hard time motivating myself to do so. It has been a very emotional month. So where do I even begin?

When I last wrote, I had just celebrated my 50th birthday. It seems that every time I hit a mile stone birthday, something happens to remind me I am getting older. This birthday, I found myself trying to read and really having difficulty seeing the words. I had Lasik surgery done years ago and I have had no real issues with my vision. I was told that the only thing that they couldn’t correct was if I needed reading glasses. I need to make an appointment to have my eyes checked, but until then, I am reading with these ridiculous readers on!

Speaking of birthdays, I feel bad because two very important ones came and went since I last blogged and they certainly both deserved a full blog. My wife celebrated at the beginning of the month and my youngest son officially became a teenager just a few days ago. Birthdays in quarantine suck. I didn’t get to really do anything for either of them! It will be a week or two before I see my son, so I am planning on doing something for him when he is back here with me.

I got Amazon gift cards from my mother and father-in-law, and from my dad. I decided I’d get some vinyl to play. One for laughs and one for music.

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You can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra. They remixed his Nice and Easy album and I picked that up.

Next, I found an album I had years ago that is loaded with laughs from the great Soupy Sales.

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Graduation on the Internet

My oldest son graduated this year. You may have seen something about his school, as it made national news. They rented the Drive-in theater in town and showed all of the commencement speeches, staff speeches, and called out every graduate’s name (while showing their pictures) on the three big screens. Sadly, only one car per student was allowed, so Sam and I watched the live stream from home. It was certainly not the way I thought I would see my son graduate.

I emailed the principal and voiced how disappointed I was that only one car was allowed per student. Certainly there were more divorced parents than just me! I had hoped that he would return my email, but that didn’t happen. So, I cheered and cried when they read his name from my living room. He wore his cap and gown to the ceremony, but I haven’t gotten any pictures of him in them. I am hoping that he will come by with them so I can at least get one.

Back to Work

I returned to work two weeks ago. I really wasn’t sure I was ready to return, but the doc thought I’d be okay. The lab where I work is open, but only a few of the staff is back there. The rest are still working in a labor pool at jobs that they are assigned to. When I returned to work, that was where I went. The only bad thing is, the labor pool is going away and that means I will have to take a temporary lay off.

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The thing that scares me is wondering if they will ever call me back. I know of many people in radio who were told they were being laid off temporarily, only to have the companies eliminate those positions and terminate them. This is happening all over as many companies are doing whatever is necessary to keep their business alive. In the weekly trade magazine that comes our for just country radio stations, there is almost three pages of people LOOKING for jobs, while there is just a half page of stations looking to hire people.

Father’s Day

Father’s Day I was up early to meet my sons for breakfast. It was the first time we’d eaten in a restaurant since things opened back up. It was nice to see both of them together. Lately, I have only been seeing Dimitri, as Dante’ is now working and usually hanging with his friends. We had a nice breakfast and I enjoyed my time with them.

When I came home, Sam had Ella all dressed for Father’s Day.

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I received my Father’s Day/Birthday gift from Sam between my birthday and Father’s Day. She ordered me something that was made special for me. She had hoped it would be here by my birthday, but it took a few weeks to make. I was floored by this when it arrived. It was a book –

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She got to design how I looked, and how Ella looked. She said it was hard because her hair was still looking red some days and blonde on others. There were various stories to put in the book. She had Ella point and those were the ones that ended up in the book. She asked me to read it and I could barely make it through. It made me so emotional. It was the perfect gift and I will treasure it forever!!

My Baby Girl

The one thing that has been a plus though all of this is the time that I have gotten to spend with Ella. She brings me so much happiness. On nice days, we always try to take a walk around the neighborhood. She loves it! We look at the squirrels, listen to the birds, say hello to neighbors, and just enjoy the nice weather.

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We like to play with her toys on the floor, she likes to bounce in her jumpy seat, we nap together, and occasionally, we’ll watch Bubble Guppies together (she likes the music on that show).

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Sometimes, I will put on my Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra albums and we’ll sway and dance in the living room. Having this precious time with her has been a blessing. With the layoff, I will have more time with her and that will be the positive in a negative situation.

Classes

My DVD’s arrived for my Bible classes. I am currently re-watching the first year (the stuff that I had already done) and will continue with the new classes when I am finished. Just revisiting these classes has been very beneficial for me. I am glad that I decided to return.

I certainly feel like my spiritual life is moving in the right direction. I have a lot of peace right now, despite the uncertainty that lies ahead. I have faith that no matter what is ahead of me …. Every thing will be okay.

Faith-in-the-unknown

With that being said, I guess that brings you up to date. I hope to not be so long between blogs. Thanks for reading!