I didn't realize how dependent I had become on my glasses until they broke. When that happened, I felt utterly helpless for a few minutes. I suppose if it had happened at home, it wouldn't have bothered me as bad. Since it happened in Eckard's, nearly 40 minutes from home, it was disheartening.

One good thing about the whole thing is that I wasn't driving. I don't know if I would have been able to, despite the fact that I had my sunglasses in the truck. It was a bit scary to have a perfectly focused world to suddenly resemble an abstract painting.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most about the whole thing is the fact the without my glasses, I am disabled to a degree. I can read; I can see things relatively close to me but beyond ten or fifteen feet everything becomes blocky, blurry shapes of color. It is hard to think of it as a disability - and it certainly isn't comparable to something like a lost limb (or is it? I certainly felt as if I had lost something important) or illness but it was humbling nevertheless.

It's humbling because it's taken for granted that vision is a constant. It's not always there for you. Without my glasses, I couldn't drive. Couldn't paint. Couldn't sketch a subject that sat right in front of me effectively. I'm speaking from experience here - I tried. I was taken right off the control train.

That is another humbling thing about it - there is no control over it. You never know - if you did, I'm sure that a good bit of the stupid stuff that gets done in the average day wouldn't be. It's amazing to see how much of a control freak I really am when the illusion is taken away.

Personally, I can't stand it when my illusions are ripped away. I like them. LOL