“You have dry eyes and your eyes may be strained from looking at the computer for so long each day,” said Dr. V, my eye doctor. I had paid her a visit a few weeks ago because  I had been seeing double by the end of the day. My aging eyes were not able to focus properly on the computer screen with my progressive lenses.

“I think you should try computer glasses,” said Dr. V. “We’ll make bifocal lenses so you can see the distance to the computer and also read the keyboard or paperwork when you have to look down. Don’t spend a lot of money on these eyeglasses, as you’ll want to see if they work for you.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I responded as I headed off to Brite Eyes boutique to purchase my new eyeglasses. My nearsightedness had changed a bit, so I needed new progressive lenses for regular wear.

I decided to order the same Silhouette rimless titanium frames as my current progressives.  I like titanium frames because they are so light to wear. The best part is that my insurance included a discount on the frames, so I was a very happy camper. Silhouette makeup artist Mary Greenwell says that “rimless glasses allow you to be who you want to be and enhance your natural beauty.” (Thank you Mary, I want to enhance my natural beauty during my life after 50.)

“I don’t want to spend too much on a frame for my computer glasses,” I told the nice sales woman. “I’m going to go home and find a pair of old frames. Then all I’ll need to pay for are the bifocal lenses.” Home I went to rummage through my stash of eyewear from the 1980s, 1990s and beyond. It was fun to see how styles have evolved over the years. I had big red frames when I was in my 20s, round rimless Ralph Lauren preppy frames in my 30s, thin narrow frames from my 40s, and now rimless titanium frames in my 50s. I found an appropriate frame from my collection and brought it back to the eye boutique.

“You’re all set,” said the sales woman. “You saved so much money, you got a great deal on the Silhouette frame and you didn’t have to buy a new frame for your bifocals.”

As I prepared to exit the shop I felt very proud of how much money I had saved. That is until I eyed a purple Marc Jacobs frame that looked like it would be perfect for a new pair of sunglasses. They were big and round and they were my favorite color purple. They were screaming out to me, “try me on, try me on.” I had just saved a few hundred dollars. I really needed new bifocal sunglasses to read on the beach. (Time out: How do I rationalize the cost of these Marc Jacobs sunglasses? Here’s how – my old Elizabeth Arden tortoise shell sunglasses contain a prescription that is so out-of-date that I have to take them off to read on the beach. This could actually do more harm to my eyes. This is not good. I need my eyes for a long, long time. Time out: The purple frames will go perfectly with my aquamarine bathing suit.) Dare I leave the shop without trying on the purple frames? Absolutely not.

“They look fabulous on you,” said the sales woman. She was so right, they were made for my face. “We’ll give you a discount on this frame since you are buying so many pairs,” she added. “A discount? A discount? Really? Hmm, hmm, hmm, I do love them,” I replied. How could I resist? (When I brought my daughter A back with me to make my final decision, A said they had Jackie-O Judi written all over them.)

“How am I going to fit ALL these eyeglasses in one handbag?” I wondered. (My bag now weighs almost 40 pounds according to the Honda dealer who told me that fact when I wanted to know why my seatbelt light was staying on when I had my handbag on the passenger seat. My handbag weighs so much that the car thought it was a young child who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.)

My handbag does runneth over with eyeglasses. However, my computer glasses have done wonders for my eye strain. I wish I had made this change sooner.

As for my big purple sunglasses – well, well, well, they’ve changed my life too. I love, love, love my big purple sunglasses. I am more stylish on the beach when I read my Vogue and InStyle magazines. Whose hiding behind those shades?  It’s me, me, me.

Judi

P.S. – Calling all boomer girls…this blog is my newly updated site. I hope you like it. As part of the relaunch, anyone who signs up to receive my posts via email or leaves a comment on any blog post during the month of July, or sends a note to me with feedback about my newly designed blog, will be entered into a raffle for a copy of “I Remember Nothing And Other Reflections” in remembrance of the late writer Nora Ephron. (Note: To leave a comment on a post you can click the little bubble near the title of the post.)