Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition that causes the eyes to lose the ability to focus on objects close to you after the age of forty. The lens inside your eyes hardens and becomes less flexible with age. Your near vision progressively declines as each year passes by.

I have life presbyopia. I feel like I am so fixated on looking ahead and moving forward that I often lose sight of the things that are right in front of me. As I’ve aged, I have become hardened and less flexible.

I remember being a kid and sitting in the staircase. Marveling at the dust motes floating in the beams of sunlight streaming through the window. The simplest things inspired wonder. Ten weeks of summer break felt like a lifetime. These days, it’s a constant rush of dishes, laundry, work, running errands, more dishes, more laundry, more errands, more work. There never seems to be enough time.

I’m taking a moment to pause. Take a deep breath. Stand idle with no agenda. Put on my glasses and see clearly all the simple and beautiful things right in front of my face.