To Pluck or Not To Pluck

It’s always something... Life with macular degeneration has its own “sense of humor,” it seems. At times this twisted path of humor does not really make me laugh per se, it does give me pause, and I sigh, often accompanied by a rolling of my afflicted eyes, and exclaim, “Really?”.

Navigating the everyday

A simple attempt to check the ingredients on a can of soup or navigating a day trip (gave up night driving!) to a new coffee shop in town can become a fiasco. Potentially missing that pivotal turn and ending up more lost than found because reading street signs has become more challenging to almost ridiculously impossible. And the soup in question is not exactly the most palatable after all.

Tools that help!

Fortunately, I have become more adept at using handy tools to avoid these situations. Simply snapping a quick photo of a can’s label, enlarging its results and the ingredients are quite handily larger, thus making all the information available and clear enough to make a better decision, to buy or not to buy.

Also most appreciated in this day and age that I live in is the amazing GPS systems on my iPhone and in my vehicle as well. Setting the coordinates before leaving the house allows me to venture out in our town and safely find my way. The GPS voice gives step-by-step directions, avoiding the stress of missing street signs with many advanced warnings. Gaining or maintaining this independence is good for the soul.

The situation

Life with these eyes that are dealing with degeneration does not compartmentalize, it is all the time in all kinds of situations. I found myself recently in a very “interesting” situation. The occasion was a sad one, a family funeral. The family all gathered, preparing for the day to bid our loved one a final farewell.

The day started early, preparing mentally and physically to attend an emotionally charged event. Thankful that my husband and three of our four children were able to be there for this day. As is standard for our family traditions, preparing for this day meant truly dressing for the occasion.

What I will call church attire was the order of the day. The start of the day was a shower and hair washing, topped off with a black dress and matching shoes. I styled my hair, applied makeup, and that’s when I noticed it.

A wayward hair

A wayward upper lip hair had sprouted overnight. I could FEEL this interloper, but could not for the life of me see it. Not having packed a plucker or razor blade to eliminate this problem, I was stumped. But just for a moment.

To the rescue

Thankfully my well-organized daughter was able to come to the rescue. Arriving a little early for the morning funeral she and I planned our rendezvous. Quite stealthily, she and I slipped into the ladies' room, where she was able to eradicate the offending hair follicle.

I will confess we may have giggled quite a bit, then pulled ourselves back into a somber mood and joined the rest of the family. So you see, a “sense of humor” truly does help. Life goes on, and through it all, we can get by.