Bad eye day

When I was 16 the school nurse (remember school nurses?) gave everyone an eye test and told me I was short-sighted. In fact, what she actually said was: 'Ooh. You need glasses!' in a rather "tsk-tsk, young lady" kind of way.

I had to go home and tell my parents so they could take me to the optician.

I chose a pair of glasses (within a tight budget) and carried them in my school bag for a while but I never wore them. I was terrified. Sixteen was a really bad age to tell me I needed to start wearing specs. Instead I squinted and struggled and got behind, and let teachers think I was stupid. Better to be stupid than Specky Four Eyes, right? ... hmmm...

By the time I was 18 my eyesight was bad enough to make ordinary life a bit tricky. I couldn't find my friends at lunch time and if I went out at night the whole world was like a murky cave with coloured blobs. So instead of getting myself something really cool with my 18th birthday money, I got myself contact lenses.
For a couple of years I couldn't afford to look after my lenses properly, I couldn't afford to change them often enough and I even slept in them sometimes (naughty). So I have had permanently bloodshot eyes ever since.

Twenty six years later I understand the importance of looking after your eyes but I still hate wearing glasses: my face is too wide and my cheek bones too sticky outy and my eyelashes catch on the lenses. Which is why I'm a bit peed off today.

I inserted my contact lenses this morning but my right eye felt all wrong. So I took out the lens, cleaned it and put it back in again. But it still felt wrong. So I took out both lenses and soaked them in rehydrating fluid and then started to put them back in.
Only it wasn't rehydrating fluid. It was peroxide. Which immediately began to burn my left eye. I pulled out the offending lens and rinsed my eye madly with saline solution. I think I was a bit rough getting the lens out in a hurry and may have scratched the surface of my eye with my finger nail.

So that was both eyes buggered. This photo is about half an hour later when the stinging had subsided a little.


In other news, Richard went back to work today. Only for a short while today, but tomorrow things are changing. His manager finished for good today to go off and do other things and life is going to be very different.

When Richard got back we went for a walk on the beach. The surf was big and lots of people he knew were surfing. I asked if he was bothered that he wasn't surfing and he said "No." He said he was over it, he was over everything and he was thinking of getting the shop valued and selling it. He seemed really down. I don't think he likes the way the future is looking. He's not been sleeping well either.

There is a strong feeling that something significant needs to happen, but neither of us is sure what that is yet.

I've sent him to Argos with our Visa-points-turned-into-Argos-vouchers this evening to get a mattress for the visitors' bed (I had to nick the one that was already on there for Gemma's bed) so that'll cheer him up!

;o)


(I had to pull a funny face for the photo because my iris usually fills the whole height of my eye as you look at it. (I know what I mean) )