Haircuts

Living with myopic macular degeneration is very much a part of who I am these days. I am presently only affected with this malady in one eye, often referred to as the "bad eye." The "good eye" is maintaining itself, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Turning challenges into accomplishments

Over the course of a day, I would speculate that I have said "Will you look at this for me?" or "Can you enlarge the print?" or better still, "Why is it so dark in here?" at least a dozen times or more. Asking for LED lightbulbs in every light fixture and open blinds in every room possible are just a few of the accommodations that have been made.

Honestly, it is what it is, and I am pretty okay with where I am in life.

The challenges presented can become overwhelming if you let them. Turning challenges into accomplishments is more often the goal.

A marriage that is constantly shifting and refocusing

Having been married for 38 years, one’s partnership becomes quite different. Newlyweds are all atwitter with the newfound love for each other — becoming partners in life, forging new beginnings with confidence in each other. Knowing that together anything is possible. In our case, filling their home with a family of 4 and successfully raising them to become independent as they each leave the family home. With complications like emergency C-sections, the adding of 2 hearing aids into the mix, and 2 total knee replacements, the marriage is constantly shifting and refocusing on how to best live in this partnership.

This latest diagnosis of myopic macular degeneration has become the icing on the cake, I believe.

My husband trusts his haircuts to me

My dear husband of 38 years is one of the individuals that has gradually succumbed to life with a smooth and uncovered head, meaning bald on top, limited hair on the sides. On occasion he will need a trim to even up the remaining side hairs, giving him a more kept look.

In our early marriage days, he would venture to the local barber and have this chore taken care of there. As the years went by, he gradually trusted this chore to me. The handling of the clipper and subsequent trimming were dutifully dealt with, and we celebrated saving $20 of barber bills every month.

This marriage partnership was truly evolving. Our 3 boys also lined up for their monthly trims until they reached an age where they no longer wanted Mom’s all-over trimmings.

Haircuts and the challenge of MMD

Let's add MMD into this equation and recognize the challenge of it.

These days, as I fire up the clippers and cast my eyes towards my husband’s head, I honestly take a minute. I need to peer ever so closely as I run the clippers around his head. I often use the overhead lights as a contrast mechanism, catching the shadowy view of the hairs I am intending to trim off. I work back and forth, buzzing over an almost grid-like pattern to carefully trim off all that is needed to be trimmed off.

At my completion of this exercise, husband does a quick workaround, catching any that I may have missed. I am thinking next time, a headlamp might be necessary.