I got contacts last week. It was on a whim, really - I had made an appointment for an eye exam because I like to get new frames every year, and also, it’s just the right thing to do for your eyes when your work requires sight. But a day or two beforehand, I got to thinking “why haven’t I ever looked at getting contacts?” and “maybe I should try them.”
By the by, I actually sort of know the answer to the first question. My ex-husband’s father was a chemist. Apparently contacts are a no-no in chem labs because some rando reaction might blow up in your face and fuse them to your eyeballs, thus there were parental warnings delivered: no contacts, ever. However. I am not a chemist. And I am not married to that person anymore, either.
So I went in, got my prescription checked, and was taught how to put very slippery, thin pieces of plastic (silicone?) in my eyes. And how to take them out, too.
With them in the first time, I wandered around the store saying “wow” over and over. Couldn’t help myself. It was like the whole world was different. I wear progressive eyeglasses, so I’m used to moving my head around to see things clearly. But now I can move just my eyes, and it’s still clear. (These are multifocal contact lenses.) And when I was trying on new frames, I could see myself.
I could see myself. This seems obvious, but it’s more profound than I expected it to be. I started wearing glasses 12 years ago, and have been wearing them full time for about the last 10 or so. I haven’t seen my own face clearly (shout out to my fellow presbyopes) in a decade without having glasses on. And I’m still not sure what to think of it. I look both older and younger than I thought I looked, weirdly. I am still meditating on this.
I have determined that the contacts won’t be an every day, all day kind of thing for me. They’re best suited to interiors - working at the computer, doing art stuff, household chores, etc. But the distance vision isn’t precise enough for days that I’m out and about. I like to see the world clearly. The contacts do work fine outdoors in a general sense - I can run to the grocery store - but I apparently look at a lot of far away details in my regular life that I just can’t see clearly enough without proper glasses.
All that said, I am still saying “wow” every so often, and marvelling at seeing my own face.