It's a miracle!

I was living in an intensity of far more than mind and body could absorb comfortably.  I knew that.  The last post describes it pretty well.  The fact that I rose that morning and -- within a few minutes -- in the pace set by my calendar -- brewed the usual cup of Earl Grey breakfast tea and booted up MAC to scan the incoming emails before jumping into my winter uniform (it's gotten pretty damp and cool since last Sunday), then took off for another day of busyness.  At that point there was no hint of anything out of the ordinary.

But, for some reason I began to experience some subtle visual distortions with just a little dizziness  -- "out of focus" which caused my balance to be precarious; maybe just a tad. Vertigo?  Was this "aging" setting in?  Is this how it would occur -- without warning?  Could this be the high blood pressure that my internist was on the alert for at my last checkup?  After all, she'd prescribed 25 mg tablets, halved, of hydrochlorothiazide for the first time when I went in this year.  I'd noticed no difference, however, and always had to remind myself to take them.  Had I taken one this morning?  Yes. I remembered distinctly doing so with the first sip of tea.

It made for an uneasy start of my work day.  Would they notice; those young rangers with whom I spend most of my waking hours? 

I hopped into the car but found myself fumbling around in my purse for the keys (but hadn't I not used them only a minute ago to unlock the car?) and not finding them -- (Oh, here they were!)  Was this a sign of memory loss; at least a hint?  Dutifully checked out the rear vision mirror before backing out of my assigned parking space and the feeling of being not quite in focus persisted as I noticed a slight difficulty in judging the distance between my car and that of my neighbor ...  .

Drove off to our offices and spent the next few hours feeling "off" and wondering if anyone was noticing?  Should I just return home and wait it out?  But the fear that this was the onset of "old" kept me from giving in to these symptoms.  We'll see tomorrow -- (as if one ages in such increments of immediate time).

Then I got caught up in the rhythm of my day and needed to deliver copies of the newly-published Master Plan Summaries to the Main Library in downtown Oakland.  This meant signing out one of the federal vehicles for an hour or so. Routinely gathered up the keys from the key cabinet and logged myself out; climbed into the driver's seat and -- as I began to adjust the mirrors set by the last driver -- caught sight of my image therein, and,

Mystery solved.  

I'd left home wearing my black-rimmed computer glasses!  Reached into my purse for another regular pair and -- instant cure!  A miracle! The world righted itself in an instant and -- Voila! -- I was young again!  But just for those hours, y'all, it was touch and go! 

Photo:  One of Dorian's art pieces; a pretty accurate depiction of my faux mental state.