232. Eyeglasses

 

You know, there are a zillion objects we Americans use all the time and we don’t think of them as things we especially care for, but we couldn’t live without them. Some people even view these things as a necessary evil, but, in fact, they are objects that improve our lives tremendously.

When I get up the world looks normal, typically beautiful like today with green grass and flowers beginning to appear with the backdrop of bright blue skies and white puffy clouds. But then I go into the kitchen or bathroom to get ready for the day and have to look at something smaller like the directions on a package, or even the opening of a package, and I can’t visually distinguish anything. And by then I’m looking up again, somewhat in frustration, fully aware of my age and noticing I can’t really even distinctly see the branches on the tree out the window. I let this go on until I sit down to read and then I put on my reading glasses. I’m a man with degrees in English and I love to read and write. I could not do those things easily without my glasses.

I’m not alone in needing glasses. And it isn’t merely a thing for the elderly. Glasses are the one medical device that all of us need at one point. You might need them to read only because your eyes no longer—or maybe never did—refocus from distance to close up. You might need them just because you want to spend the sunny day outside skiing on a snow-covered hillside, so you have to wear some shades. You might just need to wear them all the time so that things show up to you in focus. That could mean a single lens prescription or a prescription for only one eye, or a bifocal prescription, or, like me, even a trifocal prescription. (Which I refuse to wear because all those lines cause me to stumble and I do remain active.)

Glasses are necessary for most all of us and we’ve gotten to where we view them more as a fashion statement than a medical device. I realize that they are both and I have come to enjoy how I can look the scholar while still being able to view the world. I not only need my glasses, I love them.

231. Smart Phone

I really love my smart phone. I don’t think I would have said that just a couple of years ago, so that’s why it has never (until now) been on my list. There are all kinds of things I use my smart phone for. It’s for more than just a phone and contact list. Second to that it’s a camera. I take pictures of everything and then I post those pictures on social media sites because I take so many pictures that I could never keep track of them and they get old and end up getting deleted. Who prints pictures these days?

And social media is a distraction for me that I use my phone for. In fact, I’ve had to reign it in because it’s way too easy to spend too much time on it. But I love it. I stay in touch with former students and family and friends. I use social media to let people know I’m alive and share crazy pictures I’ve taken. I use social media to have private conversations, share private photos, and just have fun. The great thing about so many of those social media apps is that you can delete conversations or photos, or in time they just disappear. You don’t have to feel like you’re being tracked for every off-color remark you’ve ever made.

I also use my smart phone as a stereo for my music. I connect the music I have downloaded to my stereo system I just purchased (see previous entry) or I use Bluetooth to connect it to the car stereo system. I listen to podcasts that I like. I use it to listen to audio books. My favorite podcasts are Fresh Air and This American Life. Right now I’m listening to a very interesting biography called Me and Robert E. Lee. I’m learning all kinds of new things about the south.

Sometimes I use my smartphone to identify myself as a COVID-19 vaccine recipient. I use it to download my flight boarding passes for plane trips. I use it to identify birds. I use it to read the Bible and news feeds. I use it to connect to various radio stations around the world and to listen to broadcasts in foreign languages so that I can learn them. I use it for my German dictionary and an occasional translation of other foreign languages. I use it for it’s maps and guides for direction. I use it to find things like food or museums. I use it for almost everything. I love my smartphone, 

230. Fatherhood

I’m not sure what makes an American father different from other fathers or even what makes me a different type of father than my own dad, but I love fatherhood. I love being a father and I love being a son. I also feel special because I still have my dad, though I don’t see him more than once or twice a year.

There can be a sense of awkwardness about being a father. There are certain areas of life that we typically don’t talk about enough, but I think that’s true of all in person relationships, and I think that’s unfortunate but sometimes it’s just easier to keep some conversations pointed and not too personal. I used to think it was easier, and for a time it was, to talk to my mother, but now I feel like I’d rather talk to my dad about some things and not even broach those subjects with my mom. Aches and pains that go with aging are way easier to talk about seriously man to man, for instance.

I was lucky to always have my dad around. Some people have been known to be total dead beats as dads, not marrying the mother of their children or even involving themselves with their kids. Others, especially from my childhood era, spent too much time at work. That was never the way of my father or me.

I remember doing things with my dad like cutting wood out in the forest. We often took my grandpa along. My dad was super protective of his kids and would panic over any slight danger like choking or falling in the river, yet he supported us (reluctantly) in our rodeo pursuits. I do think he was happy when I broke my arm after being bucked off a bull and decided I didn’t want to have anything more to do with it. That kind of love that I received from my father made me want to be a dad too.

I took my own boys to Europe. We even lived in England for a year on a teaching exchange. We used to always cut a Christmas tree together. They both assisted me with setting up a cross country course while I was coaching and sponsoring meets. I think teacher’s kids get to spend lots of time at schools with their parents, but it was a great job for having children and I don’t regret a moment of it. So now that I’m a dad I have the privilege of having a physically challenged son who will live with us as long as we’re able. I love doing things with both my boys and I’m glad I don’t have to experience the empty nest. I love being a dad and I love my dad.