Patience

I’m so grateful.  One characteristic that has remained ingrained in me is patience, especially with myself.  I remember the first time I tried contact lenses.  I have worn glasses since I was very young, under the age of five.  When I was in my late thirties, I decided I would try contacts, my doctor said I might see more clearly with them. 

My vision has always been terrible, not legally blind by any means.  Just bad enough for the kids in elementary school wanting to barrow my eyeglasses so they could start fires at recess.  I also still have a bit of a scar on the bridge of my nose from the sheer weight of the lenses.  I also had a very lazy eye.  It was so bad whenever I’d be getting yelled at by my teachers (which was sort of often), they’d say, “You look at me while I’m talking to you!”, I’d say, “I am!” and they just didn’t believe me.  I don’t think any of them realized I was telling the truth. 

But having a lazy eye and glasses that magnified my eyes by about twenty, made me a very friendly person.  Everyone said “hi” to me because it was impossible not to catch my eye – one way or another. Therefore, I’ve continued to be very congenial to others.

Back to the contact lenses.  I went to a place on Main Street in Ann Arbor to obtain the lenses.  The people were so kind and helpful.  I was in there for probably four hours trying to get the lenses in my eyes.  The staff was very impressed with the patience I showed.  I’m glad the stroke didn’t take that away from me.