Doubly focussed!

There is no change in the way of my holding the book. And the lighting in the room is good enough to read a book.
Yet, there is change in the way I hold a book! My arms stretch a bit further and I try changing the angle of my holding the book! Now, it's OK. I go ahead.
But it was on a bright morning, the distance between the knife and the vegetable was inassessible. Then, on the sewing machine, the position of the needle looked different.
But it really struck me when I was reading the proof of a work. Another collegue of mine put on her reading glasses hanging around her neck. Oh, I have gotten'Presbyopia'! (Wonder, why my grandma called it 'Saaleshwaram' - which God she was talking about?)
For the optician, it was a routine prescription for a reading glass. The options were many:
- You can wear a thin pair of reading glasses - however you have to look over or under it! Buy for a hundred rupees. And hang them around your neck!
- You can wear a bifocal glass. Permanently. No looking over and under the glass. But there is an annoying line separating the near and distant vision. You can not 'read between' these lines!
I happily chose the frame and ordered for a bifocal glasses for around five hundred rupees.
It was not easy to wear the glasses all through the day. Not because, I was not used to. But the glasses with separating lines were frustrating to wear. I started getting head aches, dizziness and nausea.
My cousin suggested PAL - Progressive addition lenses. There are no lines and they offer a more gradual visual transition between the two prescriptions. No visible lines? The idea sounded good. The cost went beyond three thousand rupees - a normal quality pair of glasses.
After wearing them, I felt I missed the perception at every staircase. People who saw me for the first time or even old friends were made to think that I suffer from a severe health problem that I was not able to take a step without any help. Above all, I experienced distracting double images from headlights of vehicles and streetlights.
The doc suggested Crizal lenses, that promise a clear vision. But the price (around ten thousand rupees!) discouraged me from experimenting.
I started observing people with glasses closely. The first thing I looked for was the lines in their glasses! And yes, almost 90% of my age group and above were wearing them with lines!
I told myself,"Be doubly focussed on the work. You will forget the lines." I started reading through bifocal glasses.
Yes, it works. There is nothing like self motivation. . .