Seeing Clearly

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pearle Vision for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

There was a time before children when I took care of myself. I went to my annual checkups, two dental cleanings every year and even annual eye exams. Then I became a mom. I swear, that first year, I was at the doctor’s office more times than I had been in the last five years! And as Peyton got older, I seemed to spend more time on her doctor appointments and taking care of her needs. Since we frequented the doctors so often, I never even realized that I had quit taking care of my own appointments. I mean, I had just been there 2 weeks before- what else could we need?

Before becoming a mom, all my prescriptions were filled. I had my inhalers in my purse, gym bag, and medicine cabinet. Now my medicine cabinet is full of Band-Aids, ointments, thermometers, and three different types of children’s pain relief in various forms and flavors.  There is so much stuff that I cannot even see what all is in there! Heck, I even lost my glasses somewhere along the line in the past six months, and didn’t even notice. Maybe that was because I hadn’t been wearing them much to begin with, since Peyton thought they were “cool” and kept taking off with them. Well, that’s all about to change. This year, I’m taking care of me. By no means does that mean I am neglecting my child- I am just going to start putting me on that schedule too!

First up, some new glasses! I’m fortunate that I can get by without them, most of the time. And by get by, I mean I can guess what’s in front of me and use deductive reasoning to come to a somewhat accurate conclusion. I’ve gotten pretty darn good at it too! I may not be able to read a street sign, but I can tell you to turn right by the white building that used to be a town hall back in the day. Or I can use my GPS and see that in two streets, there’s my turn! But I can’t tell you the name of the street until we are actually on it. I can’t see things from a distance. Yes, the movie screen might be a tad blurry at times, but isn’t it for everyone? And I may have upgraded our television to a 55″ because I couldn’t read the screen when sitting 10 feet away, but ya know, I’m getting old. So it’s just a part of life.

However, we have some really amazing events coming up in our lives, and I would love to be able to see them. Peyton is going to be in her first play in a few weeks and I would like to see my little actress up on stage and know that she’s mine- not just guess that the blob on the right resembles Peyton. So, I found those old glasses, that I had purchased probably eight years ago (give or take a few), and headed to Pearle Vision.

It had been a while (nearly a decade) since I had walked into Pearle Vision. I wasn’t sure what to expect. My first impression was “Wow! They have tons of glasses to choose from! And they have some cool frames. Like floral print frames!!” The choices were impressive. But what really took my breath away was that I could have my glasses ready to take home that day. That day! As in, I stopped in on my lunch break and could come back tonight after I picked Peyton up from school and pick them up. No waiting weeks. No needing to make an appointment for a fitting. Just come on back.  I couldn’t believe how easy this was.

Even though it had been a while since my last eye exam* I had not forgotten about those eye drops. I hate eye drops. I hate anything that has to touch my eyes. I cannot touch my own eye, let alone let someone else touch them and put drops in them. But at Pearle Vision, you don’t have to do eye drops. That’s right- no eye drops. They have a special machine that you can opt in for that will give them the results they need without the use of eye drops. No eye dilation. So you can do this whole eye visit on your own without needing someone to drive you. No longer do you need to set aside a day for the eye exam* because your eyes had to be dilated and you cannot see for a few hours. You can literally do the visit at lunch and head back to the office and work. They eye experts at Pearle Vision made this visit so easy! I’m not sure how long it was but I know it went by fast and I was out playing in the frame area in no time.

My favorite part of picking out new glasses is picking out the frames. It’s so fun! It’s the one accessory I feel I can get a little crazy with and really show my personality. I had such a good time trying on frames with the ladies there. They were all super helpful in narrowing down my choices. And they were honest. I was extremely appreciative for their honesty. I don’t want to pick out frames that look horrible on me. I want a pair of frames that make me look smokin’ hot! Or at least mom hot.

I had popped in, mid-afternoon, so I had the whole staff helping me decide which frames looked best. I think I tried on over a dozen different frames. We tried on cat eye frames, round frames, square frames, and even rectangle frames.  Once all 5 of us were in agreement with what shape worked best with my face then we started narrowing down the colors.  One of the perks of having 4 other women help you find a pair of glasses is they will get to try on frames that are out of your comfort zone, and they did. I tried on tons of glasses. And you know what? The two I ended up settling on where frames I never would’ve picked out myself, but once I tried them on I knew they were the ones.

Like the blue sunglasses with the floral print. I had not even seen those! One of the ladies brought it over and said I just had to try it on, so I did, and I loved them! I got to have my floral print, on the inside of the frame, but a nice neutral color that would go with many outfits.

My everyday glasses ended up being black, silver and white. I saw them and I’ll admit I was drawn to them but I had already dismissed them. I thought they would be too “busy” and not look good on me. Again, the ladies plucked them off the rack and handed them to me. Without the prompting of these wonderful associates, I never would’ve tried on either of those frames. Now, I have two amazing pairs of glasses that will enhance my style and beauty while helping me see what’s ahead.

As I was browsing through the frames, I came across the kid section. Oh my, those frames are so cute!! I almost wished Peyton needed glasses too. She would look so cute in a pair of sky blue frames. It would really bring out the blue in her eyes. But what I was really impressed with was that Pearle Vision had a kid package. For a very reasonable price (under $200) you can pick up a pair of frames and lenses for your child (14 and under). Wow! Glasses are expensive, but I love how Pearle Vision recognizes the expense and makes it affordable so children can get the glasses they need.

So after I finished playing in the store and I had settled on two fabulous frames it was now time to talk about lenses. Since I’m using my glasses for distance I chose a lens with an antireflective coating. I was told it would cut the glare, especially when driving at night. I almost fell off the chair! That is the number one reason I don’t like driving at night. I just thought I was getting old. I had no clue this was something that could be fixed!

When I was done playing (I mean picking out the glasses and making my lens choices!), I headed back to the office. I was told I could come back that evening  t0 pick up my new sunglasses and eyeglasses. I was looking forward to trying these glasses out.

So after I picked Peyton up from school, we headed back to Pearle Vision. I was pretty eager to try out the glasses. Remember, my eyes are pretty darn fabulous, and I only need glasses for distance. But I had no clue just how bad my eyes were. The first time I put the glasses on and I looked in the mirror, I thought, “Hmm, I don’t really notice a difference.” But then I looked at a poster across the room. Wow! I could really see it! And I could read every little word on it. I was shocked. I had no clue that I was missing out on that much by not wearing glasses.

On our drive home I kept taking the glasses off and putting them back on. I was comparing the two. It was like, glasses on; I can see, glasses off, I can’t see. And just in case you were wondering, the blur was gone. I could see each headlight, lamplight and stoplight with crystal-clear clarity. I never had a clue that what I assumed was aging and just something I had to deal with was something I could fix with a simple visit to Pearle Vision.

Well, I’ve had my new glasses for about a month now. I wear them whenever I am driving or watching television and I just used them to watch a movie at the theater. That was another “oh my gosh” moment. I never knew I was missing out on that much until I started wearing the glasses. I’m sure people thought I was crazy because I kept lifting my glasses up and doing the “now I see, now I don’t” test as I checked out the difference.

I’m really grateful I went and had my eyes checked and picked out new glasses. Now, when Peyton is up on stage singing her little heart out next week, I’ll be able to see her!! She won’t be the blob with curly hair stage left. Nope, she’ll be Peyton, stage left! And I will able to see every facial expression as she acts out her part- all thanks to the experts at Pearle Vision who helped me rid my life of blurry moments.

So take the plunge.  Schedule an Eye Exam today and let the experts at Pearle Vision help you see clearly.

*Eye exams available by Independent Doctors of Optometry at or next to Pearle Vision in most states. Doctors in some states are employed by Pearle Vision.