Leaves, toads and bugs oh my!

Part 1

The summer between 5th and 6th grades was (and still is) beginning band. It was/is when students in my school picked the instrument they wanted to play.

I had the correct embouchure for the flute and thus began my tooting.

hehe, I said tooting. Have I mentioned that I work with Jr. High students?

 Anyway, back to the post; this one's gonna be a two-parter so I should try to stay focused.

I continued playing the flute through Jr. High and on into high school. The summer before my freshman year we had marching band practice. Our school was small enough that if you were in band you were in marching band, pep band and concert band. No separation or segregation. We were all one band.

Not long after we began marching, I quickly realized that wearing glasses and marching did not go together. It probably didn't help that I had large, circa 1980's, glasses (yes, the frames were red). I had to change this dilemma of my glasses sliding down my nose when I was supposed to be standing at attention in 80-90 degree weather.

The problem was my sister. Being completely fair and diplomatic, my parents gave me the same rights/privileges that they gave to my sister, when I reached the same age when she had received them. For instance, she got her ears pierced when she was twelve. Therefore, I had to wait until I was twelve to get my ears pierced.

Cyndi had gotten contacts when she was 16. Apparently driving meant responsibility and being responsible meant wearing contacts. (That sounds a little trite, it really isn't meant to be, I'm not a fan of 16 year olds driving cars, especially in todays distracted world.) That meant I had two years of marching band in glasses.

That would not do.

I went to my parents and proceeded to explain to them why I couldn't wait, why I was responsible, how  much contacts now would improve my marching, etc. I won them over with my wit and smarts and at some point that fall, I was wearing contacts. (Not before school pictures, I might add, but that's okay.)

I still wear contacts, usually I just wear my glasses at night. However, when I started working from home, and stared at a computer screen for eight hours a day, I stopped putting in my contacts everyday. If I wasn't going anywhere, I didn't see the point. I thought I'd be saving my eyes from bifocals and, maybe that worked?

Even now, when I'm home and don't plan on going anywhere, I don't wear my contacts. But I don't necessarily wear my glasses either.

Many times, when I go run I don't take the time to put in my contacts. I can see, things are just blurry. Which leads me to see things on the sidewalk that aren't really what I think they are.

Leaves take on different shapes. I see toads, animal poo (no one wants to step in that), bugs, dead birds, giant bugs, dead toads, odd shaped poo, and on and on.

It doesn't help that I have an active imagination.

All of those things I listed actually turn out to be leaves or sticks. Except the poo. I have seen that, but most of the time what I think is poo is just a pile of leaves or a leaf on a stick.

I bet I look pretty silly jumping over leaves and avoiding sticks. But I wouldn't know because I can't see myself...