Questions + Answers

From Joseph C.

Are those real eye glasses you wearing?  With or without glasses...you look wonderful. 

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Hi Joseph.

Yes. My glasses are very much real.

I could see like a hawk until 11th grade. I don’t know what happened, but I started having issues seeing the chalkboard in class, so I got my first pair around that time, which I wore only for distance. I made it through college with those, but I decided I needed full-time help by the time I was 23. I started wearing contacts then, which were a revelation.

I have a severe astigmatism. So much so, that an opthamologist once told me, Allison, most people’s eyes are shaped like hills, but yours are more like mountains. And go ahead and get out your little fiddles to play a sad, sad, song — there is no way to correct my vision to 20/20. I can’t even get that lasik surgery. I do hope that changes, because it would be so nice to wake up and be able to see! But I press on, Joseph. I wear two different types of contacts when I need to see the world — one brand for my right eye (a multifocal) and another for my left (which is not a multifocal). Is this too much information? Well, you asked. But I can’t read closely if I’m wearing my contacts, so I have to have readers to go over them for any super short distance looking.

It’s a lot. But I try to make it fun and use it as excuse to accessorize by choosing beautiful frames. I have three pairs of glasses in rotation — the pair pictured above is a beautiful bottle green color and made by a French brand called Anne & Valentin. I’ve had them a long time. I also have a tortoise-shell pair that I’ve had for even longer, by a Japanese brand called Masanuga. They’re hand-rubbed and the most comfortable glasses I own. I’d often marveled at how they made such a hard material feel soft on the bridge of my nose (which I should probably mention is broken due to being accidently whopped in the face a few times by my son while wearing my glasses so I have a relatively new little hump/ridge right on the bridge) — I’ve probably updated the prescription 4 or 5 times since I bought them. I like to keep things a long time if possible. And my newest pair I had made from a pair of sunglasses. Of course, there’s a story: I bought a fancy new pair of Celine sunglasses for a European trip in spring 2022, but we left so early in the morning for our flight that I forgot them. And me in summer outside without sunglasses is not a good thing. I can’t even lift my head. Not only does my eyesight leave a lot to be desired, I have serious light sensitivity. So, when we landed in Italy I marched to the store and bought a replacement pair. Again, there were pricey. And I felt so guilty about buying them again but I had a plan — I justified the expense by getting them in a different color and got them made into prescription glasses when I got home. They’re huge and black and well, you’ve seen them. They are a statement. I’ve always said, if you have to wear glasses, wear some glasses.

The good news is my nearsightedness has gotten a little better with age. That thing that happens when you turn 40 and you suddenly feel like your arms have gotten shorter? That seems to have reduced my myopia a little bit.

At this point, I’m just glad I can see sometimes! My Mama had terrible eyesight and I’m afraid I inherited it. She needed glasses to find her glasses too.

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I hope y’all have a fantastic weekend.

PEACE. LOVE.

Allison

Send me a question at allisonmoorercontact@gmail.com

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