Tuesday, February 14, 2012

OH! Well THAT Makes Sense. Or not.

This afternoon I finally decided to "man up" and buy bifocals. I've needed them for quite a while, but  ... well... bifocals. But we have enough issues to deal with with math and teenage hormones, without me being crabby because I can't read with my glasses on and I can't see the white board or much of anything else with them off and I'm constantly taking them off to read and then not being able to find them again because everything except what is right in front of my is a blur. Anyway...

So, on Saturday Katie and I went to Walmart, to the eyeglasses shop, to look at frames. We saw a couple we liked, but I knew I needed Travis and Ed to render their opinions. While we were browsing, I overheard another shopper asking the salesman if they accepted her insurance (something from Blue Cross). They didn't, but he told her that he'd give her a 10% discount. So I figured when I was ready to buy I'd ask for a discount too (she was young, but not knockout gorgeous or anything, so I figured it was a "real" discount).

This evening Ed and the kids and I went to Walmart and settled on The Frames. They are nice, and actually cost less than the ones I bought last, in Florida, about nine years ago. But the cost of the Lenses!  My word! So I told the salesman (same fellow) how I'd overheard him mention a discount for customers whose insurance wasn't accepted and asked whether it might be available to customers who didn't have insurance at all. I thought for sure it would be -- I mean, why not? The store gets paid the same either way, right?  But I was Wrong! Turns out that if you Have insurance, even if Walmart doesn't accept it, they give you a discount, but if you are uninsured you pay full price!  Weird, huh?  

But I still ordered them. And I'm really looking forward to being able to look from text book to whiteboard without fumbling for misplaced glasses!



And just so I won't have spent the entire post moaning about The Injustice of It All, here are some pictures from our co-op Valentine's Day party (which was yesterday).


The mom here holding the American Girl doll with the head twisted backwards (I'm saving you the trouble of staring at the photo trying to figure out if she really is doing that!) is actually explaining about how she recently sewed some Civil War era gowns for her daughter's American Girl doll. Which she's going to bring to class next week so we can see them. And, more to the point, so that our daughters can see them and immediately demand that we sew period costumes. I really need to find less talented friends.
Aside from that, co-op was great, and this week is actually going pretty well.

2 comments:

Jennifer Harrison said...

"Good thing I was totally kidding about not having insurance! I'll take that 10% discount for Blue Cross please!" Probably wouldn't go for that, huh?

I need bifocals. I am constantly putting my glasses up on my head to talk to the kids near me or to read. I keep pushing it off because it shouldn't be possible. I'm 36 years old. I thought bifocals were old-people accessories. I'm not ready to be old. But I am ready to see again.

Melora said...

Ha! That's good, Jennifer! I'm surprised Ed didn't try that one (when we went to Disney World he tried to convince the ticket girl that we should get the Florida Residents Discount because we Used to live in Florida. She didn't bite.), but the Walmart salesman was pretty firm.

And yeah, bifocals Do project a certain image. I kept trying on different frames and asking the kids "Are These youthful looking?" "How about These?" But at forty-six, I can't really ask that question seriously, and they just Laugh! (they are Completely heartless). The glasses issue really has been making my temper worse, though, and if you add that to the hormones (my middle aged ones and Travis's teen ones) things just get ugly.