When I was 9, my BFF Lauren turned 10 and to celebrate we went to see 101 Dalmatians in theaters. I forgot to bring my glasses. We had to sit in the front. She doesn’t remember this, but I always did. She forgave me, apparently, and we stayed friends (and eventually she needed glasses, too.)

I’ve worn glasses since I was 7 or 8, and contacts since I was 12. Over the years, I have had various times when wearing glasses has been a nuisance or inconvenience:

The time I lost a contact in the ocean and had to walk back to my beach house half-blind.

The times I wanted to stay for a sleepover but couldn’t because I didn’t have contacts on me.

The time I lived in China for 2 months but the smog was so bad I had to wear glasses for most of the trip.

The several times I had to schelp to the store after arriving somewhere on a trip to get contact solution so I didn’t have to buy a hundred travel sized ones.

The time I put my contacts in two bowls because I couldn’t find a contact case and one of the bowls hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly enough and somehow I got garlic in my eye the next morning.

You get the idea. Not the worst thing, but glasses and contacts haven’t been the best part of traveling, camping, sports-playing, etc., over the past 20-something years of my life.

Wearing contacts and glasses have always been part of who I am. But I am happy to say on Friday I am getting corrective lens surgery so I will no longer need these fashion accessories (although maybe I’ll get some clear lenses for old time’s sake.)

There are a handful of things I am SO EXCITED about: being able to see in the middle of the night; waking up on a plane and not feeling a jolt of panic at the blurry surroundings; going camping in the backcountry without needing to bring in lots of contacts, soap, etc., to guarantee my hands are clean enough to put contacts in…the list goes on.

This is something I’ve been wanting to do for years, and I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen. I’ve been wearing my glasses all week in preparation of the surgery, but by this time next week I’ll not need anything anymore. I will have just a little more freedom than I have now. And I am so, so thankful for that. Even though I am nervous (lasers near my eyes, yikes) I know this is going to be the beginning of a life-changing experience for me that will change the way I live my life. I can’t wait. I’ll never make anyone sit in the front row of a theater again.

Here we go!