Appearances can be deceiving

I had an interesting experience a couple of weeks ago at Mystic South. Several people I’ve known for a long time didn’t recognize me.

We were all weary from prepping and traveling to the event, so it didn’t occur to me why this was happening until the Spouse commented on a fact that now seems obvious: The last time they saw me, I wasn’t wearing glasses.

One of the challenges of aging is dealing with the practical realities of a changing body. I began wearing reading glasses in my late 40s. But a decade on, I’ve had to switch to wearing glasses full-time.

I had always laughed at those tropes in movies and novels when a character dons a pair of glasses and suddenly no one recognizes them. I never expected to experience the same thing in real life.

In the wake of this experience, I took the opportunity to change out my photos online so they match the “new me,” glasses and all. That’s the new one up top, taken by the ever-helpful Offspring.

And now I’ll know to remove the glasses if a friend who hasn’t seen me in a long time doesn’t recognize me!