A few days ago, I called up my eye doctor to ask for my prescription because I wanted to order a pair of eyeglasses. What I didn't realize was that I've had my current pair for almost 5 years now and wouldn't be given my prescription unless I did an eye exam. Yesterday, I had already booked the afternoon off to take my daughter in for her pre-op exam (she's having a tonseladenoidectomy next week :-s ) and I decided to take my son in as well for an early 2-year exam. My optometrist's secretary mentioned she had a cancellation for the afternoon so I decided, why not?

Now here's what I love about the eye exam process. I love being able to see what 20/20 vision really looks. Having worn prescription glasses since I was about 5 years old, I have developped a strong appreciation of near-perfect vision. I remember that my vision would deteriorate quite rapidly while growing up and I was always updating my prescription. However, I wasn't very good at taking care of my glasses, which I only had to wear while reading or watching t.v. at that point. After breaking my fourth pair or so, I felt awful! My parents never had coverage so they always ended up paying a fortune for my glasses. So I didn't bother renewing my perscription until I had to undergo testing for a driver's permit. (I failed the vision test miserably!)

My father was then kind enough to take me to my optometrist right afterwards so I could have a quick exam and get new glasses. What I didn't know was that, because it was at the request of the Ministry of Transportation, I had to pay an additional fee for them to sign the form. That's not the worst part. The doctor's office had very few parking spots which were all occupied. My father had to thus park against the wall of the building. As a customer was pulling out, she didn't notice my dad's minivan and rammed right into the side of it! So guess where we were off to next? The police station to file a report! You see how much trouble I caused my parents? I will never forget that terrible day!

With that being said, here is what I dislike most about eye exams - the eye drops! I hate it when anything gets near my eyes, let alone in them! I tried contacts once but not even the store manager who had biceps as large as melons could get the contacts in my eyes. Apparently, I have forceful eyelids. So needless to say, getting eye drops was like torture! And then it took me all afternoon for my eyes to adjust. I couldn't read anything if it was right in front of my own face. And driving with the sun shining brightly was killer. When my optometrist asked me about ordering frames through her, I told her I might try buying glasses online, to which she just frowned. Anything was better than the gawd-awful selection she had in her office.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.