I had my first visit to the optometrist in over 4 years today.

Eyesight's been crashing & burning since I turned 40.

So wow--the forgotten pleasures of modeling frames for the sales lady. I really...REALLY wish I could be left alone to make the selection. Staring at myself in a mirror in front of a lobby of bored people is awkward enough without all the extra commentary.

No, I'm not trying to make a bold statement with purple frames--I save the bold purple stuff for my website. And, no, I'm not trying to follow the graphic designer herd with the bright blue, stretched-out rectangle deals either. Ear pieces that are less than a half inch wide are not "too plain" as far as I'm concerned. And no, the fat, safety goggle pieces don't do the trick either, even if it IS cute how they make me look like a 'brilliant scientist'.

At the same time, I feel bad, because a fair chunk of self-worth is apparently tied up in how well the recommendations are received. Such that, "Meh" followed by me flipping up the price tag over & over again is visibly deflating. Reminds me I just need to voice my checklist before the pitch starts.

Trendy, vain, look-at-me, graphic-designer-cliche, $300+ = No.
Functional, non-butt-ugly, don't emphasize puffy-face, don't pinch nose = Yes.

I go to pick up my thick-arm, giraffe-spotted, spidey-glasses in a couple weeks.

I never see the boy get up with so much energy and enthusiasm as I did this morning. I stumbled into his room a little after 6AM to tell him to shut his snooze-fest alarm off due to it being a snow day, and Bam! He was out of bed, buzzing with latent possibilities. As I zombie-walked into the darkened living room a few minutes later, I saw his dim, silhouetted form dancing like nobody's business--alternating, I think, between the Twist and the Cabbage-Patch.

Harrison's sixth grade PE assignment for the last couple weeks: Teams of 2 to 4 kids each are required to come up with dance routines including three types of moves, one of which involves tumbling. Forty points assigned to music choice. Today is the day they give their finished performances.

In the car on the way to school a couple days ago:
Harrison: ::long groan:: Why do teachers want to give kids stress?
Me: Are you talking about the dance thing?
H: Yes. Why does a **PE teacher!** want to make kids dance? So that all the kids come to school every day with stress??

So I had him work on a couple brainwash affirmations the past couple nights:
"I'm looking forward to the PE dance performance"
"We're going to do a good job with the PE dance performance"

He seemed pretty calm and resigned on the way in this morning. Thousand-yard-stare. I'm looking forward to the debrief tonight.

Mix these juicy ingredients: Snow & Ice + People in a Hurry + Downhill Intersections.

Then marvel at the ensuing confusion as inertia and low-friction, colliding-body physics play out before your eyes.

The kids were a half hour late for school after we watched this season's first icy wipeout unfold. I don't think the lady in the white, all-wheel-drive SUV was ready for her right turn to go so wrong at the bottom of the hill, as she hammered a nice 30 degree camber into a compact's front wheel.

After helping push one of the cars out of the road, we sat around and waited to pass along a witness report to an overworked officer with a cool snow hat. It was a worthy cue, and I spent the rest of the way to school describing ice-driving tactics to Giselle--who will be in learner's permit territory next year :-O

Mix these juicy ingredients: Snow & Ice + People in a Hurry + Downhill Intersections.

Then marvel at the ensuing confusion as inertia and low-friction, colliding-body physics play out before your eyes.

The kids were a half hour late for school after we watched this season's first icy wipeout unfold. I don't think the lady in the white, all-wheel-drive SUV was ready for her right turn to go so wrong at the bottom of the hill, as she hammered a nice 30 degree camber into the black sedan's front wheel.

After helping push one of the cars out of the road, we sat around and waited to pass along a witness report to an overworked officer with a cool snow hat. It was a worthy cue, and I spent the rest of the way to school describing ice-driving tactics to Giselle--who will be in learner's permit territory next year :-O