And what they have, is age! It's official...I'm getting old! Went for the annual eye exam yesterday and the eye doctor used the word "presbyopia." I love word studies, so let me break this down for you. "Presby" comes from the Greek word "presbys" which means "old man" or "elder." "Opia" is Neolatin (That's weird...Neolatin..."new Latin"...how in the world is there a new version of a dead language?)for "sightedness." Put them together and you get "old eyes." Or rather I do and multifocal contact lenses to go with them! I'm not swimming in the deep end of this pool, just yet, so for my new glasses I was able to stay with regular lenses. Thank you, Jesus. You are oh, so merciful. My intellectual vanity just can't hang with that.
Several thoughts were running through my head while the eye doctor was talking with me. I contemplated telling him that his mustache/goatee were very good for him. Made him look like he was closer to twenty-five...instead of the sixteen years he might have passed for without the facial hair! Seriously! Then I started thinking about one of my childhood besties, Lisa. Actually, about her dad. He was having a conversation with Lisa's big sister one day; about his visit to the eye doctor. He told Lisa's sister that the doctor said he (Mr. Lisa's Dad)had presbyphobia. Lisa's Sister sort of stuttered and asked her dad to repeat that. Mr. Lisa's Dad did...presbyphobia. Lisa's Sister fell apart laughing and when able to speak, she sweetly corrected her dad. "Daddy, he said 'presbyopia.' Old eyes...not 'presbyphobia'...which sounds like you're afraid of old men...or Presbyterians!"
If you stop and consider it, Mr. Lisa's Dad's word mangling is pretty interesting. I feel like Mr. Portokalos from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...
Stay with me, though...this is good stuff! Presbyterian. Presbyopia. Presbyphobia. The all have their root at the word for "old" or "elder." Led by the elder...old vision...fear of old. Fear of getting old...fear of aging? I've never been afraid of growing older. It's going to happen. Joan Rivers can continue to have a face lift every year...much to the delight of her plastic surgeon and his bank account...but it doesn't change the fact that she's aging. Frankly, I think she would have been better off to just age and try to do it gracefully. If she keeps pulling her face up, her eyes and hairline are going to become close, personal friends! Hearing the words "presbyopia" come out of Dr. WetBehindTheEars' mouth sent my brain into gear. Presbyopia is one of the unavoidable hallmarks of middle age. Middle age??? Pass me mah smellin' salts, Aunt Pittypat! Middle age! As in I've only got about forty more years to go. That's it?? Have I made good use of the first forty? I can't change anything about yesterday, so I'm not even going to lament for what was. I need to focus (which is hard to do when your eyes are losing their elasticity) on what's in front of me...what's ahead and pour as much of my talent, love, hard work and compassion into that. I need to take the lessons I've learned up to this point and use them to navigate this forward journey.
So there it is....I'm old. Not happy about it but it is what it is. All I can do is try to keep a positive attitude and find every bit of joy there is....even if it means finding humor at sometimes inappropriate times...like when Dr. WetBehindTheEars took the very bright light and scope and said, "Let's see what you have going on back there?" It was all I could do to resist saying, "Back there? Oh...you mean...Behind These Hazel Eyes?" My apologies to Kelly Clarkson.
Several thoughts were running through my head while the eye doctor was talking with me. I contemplated telling him that his mustache/goatee were very good for him. Made him look like he was closer to twenty-five...instead of the sixteen years he might have passed for without the facial hair! Seriously! Then I started thinking about one of my childhood besties, Lisa. Actually, about her dad. He was having a conversation with Lisa's big sister one day; about his visit to the eye doctor. He told Lisa's sister that the doctor said he (Mr. Lisa's Dad)had presbyphobia. Lisa's Sister sort of stuttered and asked her dad to repeat that. Mr. Lisa's Dad did...presbyphobia. Lisa's Sister fell apart laughing and when able to speak, she sweetly corrected her dad. "Daddy, he said 'presbyopia.' Old eyes...not 'presbyphobia'...which sounds like you're afraid of old men...or Presbyterians!"
If you stop and consider it, Mr. Lisa's Dad's word mangling is pretty interesting. I feel like Mr. Portokalos from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...
So there it is....I'm old. Not happy about it but it is what it is. All I can do is try to keep a positive attitude and find every bit of joy there is....even if it means finding humor at sometimes inappropriate times...like when Dr. WetBehindTheEars took the very bright light and scope and said, "Let's see what you have going on back there?" It was all I could do to resist saying, "Back there? Oh...you mean...Behind These Hazel Eyes?" My apologies to Kelly Clarkson.
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