Eye Glasses

As I mentioned the other day, Terry and I visited the optometrist the other day for eye exams and new glasses. We were in the office for nearly two hours. Part of that was because it was our first visit and all our particulars needed to be entered into the system but most of the time was spent with a very thorough examination process and then time spent picking out frames.

The young optometrist we saw was quite friendly and did a fine job during the exams checking fro any eye degeneration. (I hate the dilation portion of the exam because the entire world seems hazy afterwards. I also dislike that little machine that puffs air at your eyeball to check for...what does that thing check for anyway?) In fact everyone we spoke to in our time at the office was extremely friendly, easy to talk to and helpful. (Aaah, the joys of rural life!)

Anyway, my eyes are still the same as they have been for the last 10 years or so despite all the wear and tear of reading and writing on the web. I'll still need new glasses because of the small scratches on the lenses and general age of the pair I'm wearing now. Terry's eyes have gotten quite a bit worse since her last check-up nearly 4 years ago. Undoubtedly it's due to all that fancy stitching stuff she does. If her lenses weren't made from the special stuff used to keep their weight down but out of glass instead, we could save money by using Coke bottle bottoms.

As usual, we were shocked at the price of frames and lenses. Luckily Terry reads all the mailings we get and discovered that there was an offering of an eye care program (I won't call it insurance) through NARFE (retirement plan for federal employees) that we could buy into with a small monthly fee. (The Blue Cross/Blue Shield program I have didn't include eye glasses but would cover glaucoma or other eye diseases/injuries. To get the eye care package would have cost me twice what we're paying now.) As a result, we will end up paying a mere 20% of what the bill was out of our own pocket but even that will be a hefty $275 for the two of us.