My Window to the World #CHERISHED Blogfest

When Damyanti Biswas of Daily (w)rite posted about the Cherished Blogfest hosted by her along with Dan Antion, Paul Ruddock, Peter Nena, and Sharukh Bamboat I thought, what a fun idea. This Blogfest invites you to talk about one of your cherished objects.

I stressed over choosing a cherished object because I have several, predictably. Then I decided to sleep over it. I thought of the one thing I can’t do without, that makes my life that much more special. I laughed to myself, wondering why I hadn’t thought of it from the word go!

My window to the world.

My glasses, folks.

I never feel fully dressed without a smile and my glasses.

They make my world visible, more beautiful.

They add color to my life, even if I am colorblind.

I cannot imagine a life where I have no vision, even though I am visually challenged and cannot read with my right eye. I was born with a squint, short-sight and astigmatism. The squint was corrected via homeopathy but the fact that I needed glasses was something we discovered only when I was in the 7th grade.

You see, I was not just short-sighted. I was also short! I always sat in the first bench in my class as a result, and never realized I had a problem with my vision. Of course I held books too close to my face while reading and always had someone chiding me for it and telling me to hold it properly, but I never listened. And when you live in a joint family, being pulled up is something that happens quite gently unless it is a serious thing. Moreover, no one noticed any real issue.

In the 7th grade however, we had the seating in our class rearranged and I was somehow shifted to the last row. I now discovered that I couldn’t see what was written on the blackboard and always ended up scooting to the first row to write notes. My teachers of course assumed I was doing that so I could sit with my friend and talk during class.

Then one day, we had the routine medical examination that included an eye test. The good doctors informed me that I would need glasses.

Naturally, me being me, I was excited. The prospect of wearing glasses seemed amazing. I might mention in passing that I secretly yearned to wear metal dental braces like one of my cousins who seemed so cool with them. Sigh. The way childrens’ minds work!

So off I went to the opthalmologist to get a full eye examination. I also discovered I was color blind. Hitherto, my folks always thought I guessed colors wrong for fun. Imagine when we found out that I was truly colorblind!

I remember my Mom asking me what it meant to me and I told her “I am one in a million!” because I was thrilled that colorblindness is rare in women and more common in men. Talk about perspective! Yep! Little Ms. Sunshine was me.

I’ve had several types of frames and glasses over the years – very large frames that practically covered my face – narrow ones that I imagined made me look cool, frameless ones that my optician convinced me looked great – all in various colors and shapes.

But no matter what, when I take my glasses off each night (or when Sury does it – let’s not split hairs here), and when I wear them in the morning, I feel deeply grateful and instantly happy when …

• Blurry forms transform into sharply etched images and words
• I see my son sweetly smiling at me
• I see my husband singing (what? didn’t you know that when people who wear glasses take them off their hearing is affected? Truth!)
• I see my husband loading the washing machine (bliss)
• I see things clearly in the kitchen as I hum and cook
• I think of my stash of books to read
• I sit at the computer to work doing what I love
• I go for a walk and see Nature in all her glory around me
• I see children laughing and talking and fighting and playing
• I chat with my friends on the computer
• I watch movies with the family

You know what I mean. Now, more than ever, as I live with diabetes, I am conscious of the gift of sight.

My glasses are among my most cherished objects. And yes, I have a spare pair, too!

What about you? Join us in the #CHERISHED Blogfest and blog about it!