How Patton Changed My Life!

About 4yrs ago, when I was 25, I had vision insurance so, for fun, I had my eyes checked.  Dr. Pearl Vision said, "You're slightly near sighted blah, blah, blah and sent me home with some spectacles for driving & such.  Give yourself 2wks to get adjusted!"  Sure thing, Doc.  On the first day I felt disoriented, like I needed to step up on the curb, but there wasn't a curb! So I figured I didn't really need them.

Over the past couple of years I've asked more than once for presenters to focus the projector better because I was having trouble making out the words. However, when I would get up from my seat to go forward & assist them it seemed every time by the time I reached the first row the projector had self corrected!

By this past Spring, I was at Step 1: Admitting I have a problem.  (Until then I just wondered why the Department of Transportation continued to put out signs with teeny, tiny, blurry print! It seemed very irresponsible!) Unfortunately, I no longer have vision insurance and who knows where those initial spectacles went to!  However, I just happened to be in the Philippine Islands this spring! You haven't seen a mall until you've been to the Mall of Asia.  Oddly enough, free eye exams caught my eye! (Must've been in bigger and better print than those DOT signs!) Or possibly, missionaries are just drawn to the word FREE!

I took my eye exam like a champ, puff of air and all. Dr:  "You have a stigmatism." Me:  "Is that a Tagalog word?"  He explained it, but it was all Greek, Tagalog to me! I left with $50 Gap frames prescriptionized for my stigmata.  My team had been out doing something super spiritual like watching the Hunger Games or something.  My co-workers convinced me no one would even notice.  Corey saunters up first thing out of his mouth, "Sweet! Now we can get the senior citizen's discount."  Needless to say, my new glasses didn't make too many other appearances!

At 29 years old I don't need to be mistaken for a grandma! So, I turn around a lot, I can finally see the street signs when I pass them so I just turn around at the next available spot! It's a small price to pay.

However, this week a stand up guy changed my life in the Convoy of Hope warehouse. I had left my office and someone had locked the door to the warehouse and my key doesn't fit that lock so I was frustrated.  I went around ran my errands in the upstairs offices and was making my way back thru the very, dimly lit warehouse.  About 50ft from my office I see a tall slender man standing right by that door that got locked! He was just standing there staring.  It was creepy! "Hey!", I greeted (more because I had a bone to pick with the chump who locked me in more than out of friendliness!)  He evidently was hard of hearing because he didn't even flinch.  I shouted louder, he was kind of unnerving me! It wasn't until I got about 20ft off did I realize this was not a man at all, but a very tall fan!

I of course shared my startling experience with my BFF, who would never mock me! Sara walks out to the warehouse & introduces herself to said fan, & proceeds to have a conversation with him, "Oh you already met my friend Mary Beth?  You guys talked a bit earlier? Nice, nice."  And since then has made herself laugh with lines like, "He's a stand up guy!  He's your biggest fan!  He sure gets turned on easily!"  The fun is never ending around here! So, thanks to Patton, here's my new look!