Kindra woke me with a tap on the shoulder Thanksgiving morning.
“I hate to wake you up with bad news,” she said, handing me my glasses.
More precisely, she handed me what was left of my glasses.
It didn’t take a full glance to realize what happened. Reno had gotten the glasses off my night stand and given them a thorough chewing.
The plastic covering was gone from one ear piece and only a sliver remained on the other. One of the nose pads was gone and they were badly bent.
The lens were intact, fortunately, and I was able to bend them into a more or less serviceable condition.
They were uncomfortable, but I could see well enough to drive to Ardmore for Thanksgiving dinner and to shoot photos at the Stroud-Fairview football game the next night.
Due to the holiday, I couldn’t do anything about the glasses until Monday, at which time I discovered that my prescription was out of date and I couldn’t get an eye exam until the 14th.
Fortunately - again - a cheerful lady at the optometrist’s office was able to overhaul my glasses and make them almost as good as new.
Life was back to normal, except that I noticed I was having to ask people to repeat themselves more than usual.
Odd. It was then that I realized my left hearing aid wasn’t working and the right one was spotty, at best.
I was able to get an appointment the next day and discovered that the aids would have to be sent off for overhaul.
I hear well enough in my right ear to make it ok in most conversations unless there is a lot of background noise.
However, the aids are connected via bluetooth to my phone, allowing me to do phone calls and listen to tunes in the privacy of my own ears.
I’ve gotten used to that convenience and find it inconvenient not to able to use it for the week or two that the hearing aids are out for repair.
Eyesight, hearing. Time preys on them as we age, just as it does stomach muscles, hair and something else. Give me a minute and I’ll think of it.
I’m happy I have lived long enough to have to deal with glasses and hearing aids and I’m doubly happy to live in a time when they exist.
It would be a tough life, otherwise.