Goodbye Dear Friend, You Served Me Well

I have a hard time with change.

I realize the irony in this since I am a military spouse. But the fact is, I like consistency and things I can predict. Familiar. Comfortable.

I have had the same frames for my glasses for eight to ten years now.

I love those frames! Every time I have had my eyes checked and the sales-associate-of-the-day has tried to talk me into new frames, I have always talked him/her into just putting the new lenses in my old ones. I have tried on others, but I can't find any I like as much as mine. About two years ago, it was time, so I settled on new frames and kept my old ones as a backup. Less than two weeks after getting my new glasses, we went camping and I left my glasses lying on the table with my laptop where Zoe retrieved them and snapped them. I was upset at first. And then I was happy, because it meant I could wear my old frames. And as loose and crooked and old as they are, I have been happily wearing them since then.

That is, until this past Monday when my frames met a tragic demise. I took my glasses off when I put on my sunglasses and laid them on the console in the van. When we got to our destination, I could not find them. Noah said he remembered seeing them slide off the console while I was driving. I made him get out of his seat and look underneath all the seats and down by his and Zoe's seats. They were nowhere to be found. So, while we were stopped at Sonic, I got out of the van and opened his side and crawled around looking underneath the driver's seat and his seat and all in the third row. I crawled across and looked under the front passenger seat and Zoe's seat. I couldn't find them.

It was then that I walked around the van and pulled on the handle to Zoe's door. It's automatic and it began to slide open and I heard a very distinct "CRUNCH". I could feel the bile rising in my throat and the tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't even have to look. I knew they were gone. One lens crushed and the frame snapped in two. I had to sit down. I cried a little bit.

I mourned their loss all the way home and have mourned the rest of the week. This morning, I had an eye exam and picked out new frames. It wasn't the same. The new ones are okay, but they aren't MY frames. I feel as if I am dishonoring their memory by moving on with new shiny ones. I miss them.

Farewell my friends. I hope you are whole again in the great LensCrafters in the sky. Know that you are/were loved and are dearly missed.

Note: I won't have possession of the impostors for seven to ten business days. I will try and remember to take a picture when I receive them.