After getting Thunder(cat) in the house, I bundled back up and headed for the driveway. I share the driveway with the neighbor and he usually clears it with a slow-blower. Today, though, he wasn’t home and it was all up to me. I grabbed a shovel, took a deep breath, and set to work.
The driveway isn’t that long – as these things go – but it was long enough. And it’s brick – meaning that shoveling was a careful affair. I cleared the space in front of garage, then the neighbors garage, then the middle section, then around my car, then the rest of the drive, then a path down the sidewalk in front of the houses, then my steps, then the neighbors…
Which is when I heard the sound of a garage door opener and my neighbor’s son walks up. He’s amazed by how much I’ve done and says he’ll get out the snow blower as soon as he clears his truck.
By this point I’m wiped out and ready to call it a day. But, instead, I pull my car into the garage and clear their back porch while he goes sailing past with the blower.
I was a little cranky – I mean, I had already done all the work and he was going to “wrap it up” with the snow blower. And then I saw him head down the street to clear all the sidewalks, all the walkways, and all the driveways. Of everyone on the block.
So, yeah.
I did a little more work and then realized he didn’t have gloves. I offered him some and he declined and I told him I was done for the day.
I headed back in, stripped off in the basement and put all my dirty, wet, snow-covered and sweaty clothes right in the washer.
And then I had some lunch. I saw him leave in his truck a bit later as I got ready to go to the eye doctor.
I got there a little early, checked in, and waited for my appointment time – then waited a bit more. The assistant did a few tests and then took me to the exam room, where I waited some more.
For about a 1/2 hour.
Then a guy came in and introduced himself as a optometry student. He did the exam and spent about 100 hours shining a beam of light slightly brighter than the surface of the sun into my eye. And then the other one. Eventually, he finished up and I asked if he could see what I was thinking – or if he’d seen my soul.
He left and I waited some more.
Finally, the doctor came in and did a shorter version of the same exam and then told me that I was at risk for glaucoma. Oh, nice. Thank you for that. They suggested more tests and sent me on my way to pick out new frames.
1. I first asked about glasses with magnetic clip on frames. Nope, my insurance doesn’t cover those.
2. I then picked out some nice frames – though the color was too bright. Nope, they don’t make those any more. The company might have some extra ones laying around, but it would take longer to ship them.
3. I find another pair that I don’t hate – because, really, I didn’t like any of the frames they had – and I ask if the earpiece comes in a different color or if there is a similar frame. The guys comes back with a bunch of frames in what I’m guessing is a shoe box to see if can find some different ear pieces to swap out and I give up and settle for another extra-plain style.
Even with my insurance my debit card begins quietly weeping. The best part was when I showed them photos of a previous Halloween costume with costume contact lenses – the staff thought that was pretty great. My new glasses won’t be in for a couple of weeks.
So, on my day off:
1. Terror in the bathroom
2. Thunder(cat)’s Bad Day and gum disease.
3. Mountains of snow and stuck in my driveway.
4. Staring into the sun and being threatened with glaucoma.
Can I please go back to work tomorrow?