Reading Glasses
Status update. Bought a five pack of reading glasses. Bargain price. One pair by my chair. One pair by my bed. One pair in the car. Two pair of spares. Here’s where we stand. No idea where the pair by the bed went. Nor can I find the spares. Despair. Well, not quite. But it is slightly disturbing. I mean, seriously, this is a small house with not all that many places to put things. And I’m unable to find the one place where I put my extra reading glasses? Sad.
And as I was typing I remembered where I put them. In the cabinet right above my head where I now sit. That’s cool. I have them. They came in a box, and I forgot that. The thrill of discovery, and you were there. Now I have them and all we’re missing is the pair that should be by my bed. I could simply forget that pair and replace them with one of the spares, but that would be a surrender too soon. I know they’ll turn up just as the spares turned up.
It's sort of strange how finding something like a box with extra reading glasses in it, lightens the mood. But it did. I’m willing to sacrifice one pair because that’s what happens to reading glasses; it’s why I bought five pair. They go away unannounced and with no provocation. But losing the spares made me feel totally inadequate and unhappy. Weird psychology stuff. But I’m repaired and I have my spares, and I shall go forth into the day, feeling at least adequate and see how far that gets me.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale