Well, when Mom started telling me recently that she could not see the computer very well I started to get concerned. Mom has been wearing drugstore reading glasses for years, but they really haven't been working well for her for a while now.
Below, you can see she has the bluest eyes in the world, probably far more blue than Liz Taylor's eyes ever were. Not that I'm biased.
Pretty remarkable that someone 83 years old never needed a prescription until now.
She went to an ophthalmologist about 20 years ago but her eyes were fine and he said she could keep using the little reading glasses if they worked for her.
So I made her an appointment with an optometrist very near the house, after first calling to explain about her mobility issues. The nice thing about this office is that it's 5 minutes from the house AND the distance from the parking space to the door is about 8 feet.
So we set off about 2:30 and we are there by 2:37. It's thundering and scary, but we get her inside and all is well.
By 2:42 I was inside filling out paperwork and the skies opened up. Thunder. Lightning. Hail. HAIL, y'all. Marble sized, as best I could tell.
Now Mom hates doctors. I had talked her through everything that would happen but she was still nervous. The biblical storm outside the huge plate glass windows did not help her anxiety. Nor mine, truth be told. I just kept praying the car could withstand the hail, and Lola wasn't freaking out here at home alone. She is rarely left alone. (Aside from eating some garbage she did fine.)
Mom got through the eye tests fine. No cataracts. No glaucoma. "I don't even eat carrots!" she crowed triumphantly.
The eye exam was a bit tricky because she had a hard time seeing through the huge machine, so the optometrist just pulled out the lenses and held them in front of her eyes, which I'd never seen before, but it was the perfect solution. Mom did fine reading the letters and choosing the lens that worked better. (You know the drill, if you've ever been to get glasses.)
Mom needs bifocals, which I told her would change her world for the better. She's on the computer a lot, and has a big monitor and the print is big, so we've done our part to help.
She chose a pair of blue frames, and we ordered the glasses. They said they should be here in about 10 days. I hope they are here sooner.
As soon as we paid for the glasses, I looked at my watch and realized it was 3:30 and Michael had to be at work at 4, on his moped. It was still raining hard. He had the good sense to put his good clothes in a bag and stash the bag under his seat in a little compartment, and he safely navigated through the storm. I was praying the whole time.
The man who fitted Mom's glasses helped me get her and the wheelchair in the car and was very kind.
When I got home I texted Michael and then he called me from work to reassure me he was fine, and in dry clothes. He has to get there 30 minutes before they open for dinner at 4:30 so he had time to change.
We came home to a mini flood in the front and in the back. All my plantings were ok except one of the hydrangeas by the mailbox.
This was the backyard from my window at 4:05:
Everywhere you see brown, it's my yard. [Sorry about the crappy photo quality but it was taken through a window screen.]
Now the sun is shining and the waters are receding.
This is why we get to pay flood insurance every year.
And soon, Mother will be able to see again. And she still doesn't need to eat carrots!
Also important: I do not have to freak out, worrying about Michael on the moped in the rain. If he could drive safely in the biblical storm this afternoon, he is the Mario Andretti of the moped world. He had the brakes modified so all the brakes are controlled by his left hand, thank goodness.
Aside from replanting my hydrangea and cleaning up a little garbage, we escaped harm or even inconvenience. Praise God! Y'all stay dry out there.
