In their early 40s both my parents finally got eye exams, and given minor prescriptions (low magnification).

My mother said "Oh these are so weak, I can get by without them for most things." And the glasses spent most of the time in the drawer.

My dad wore his (equally weak) glasses regularly.

My dad's eyesight worsened MUCH more quickly than my mother's. She was able to go for another 10-15 years without wearing glasses.

Similarly, I my early 30s a routine eye exam for my driver's license indicated that I needed glasses.

I hardly ever wore them.... and several eye doctors here in Israel have confirmed that my eyesight has not changed in the 15 years since (and that here my eyesight is adequate for driving here!).

Unless you have a structural lens issue (like astigmatism) - try going without.

I occasionally do simple exercises like alternating my focus from the distance to close text. And I rest my eyes.

Eyeglasses are an artificial imposition. I believe that they affect the eye's ability to focus and recover.

Big Red, welcome to middle age. I, the sharp-eyed baby of the family who never needed eyeglasses, now have four pair, and need two of them just to work. A couple weeks ago Gail recommended multifocals, and made them sound pretty good

Ben-David, I don't think I should drive after dark without glasses to exercise my eyes, lest I exercise somebody else right off the planet by crashing into them.

Likewise, I can't read the subtitles on the TV. Luckily, this does not come with dire consequences for others, but I still do like to know what's happening in the movie.

Zennioptical.com has done well for me. Like your experience, they are inexpensive (but not "cheap") and their customer service has been awesome.

I know of no one who has used them for glasses who has not been very satified. (and I have recommended them to many folks).

YMMV

I had LASIK back in '03. Before that I was completely nearsighted and had an astigmatism. The doctor told me that was a good time to do it, because I'd have about 10 years of good vision before I'd start to need reading glasses.

He was pretty close. I now can't read those stupid ibuprofen bottles with the tiny 6 point type at all, and small print in low light is also getting difficult. I went to the eye doctor and he told me I'm almost 20/20 still, and to just get the weakest pair I could find in the drugstore. Walgreens has some cool ones and I picked up a pair of +1's, which is the weakest they make. Now I can read those stupid pill bottles again!

Lasik.

Best two grand I ever spent.

Amy - is it hard to get the measurements right?

I was on the website and it's not just "enter your script"...you need to measure the distance from your nose to your pupils (or something like that).

...And the results are still good??

Hmm, I wonder if they can do prismed lenses. (My eyes aren't quite lined up - never have been). Worth checking out.

I'm another satisfied Zennioptical.com customer. I wear trifocals and the cheapest pair I could find was at Costco for $400 and that was with basic frames. I had them write the pupil to pupil distance on the prescription and kept it. All of the other info I needed to order from Zenni was printed on the arm of my Costco glasses.

I use a separate pair with just the reading and middle distance correction when using a computer. I ordered a pair of those and two spare trifocals and the cost was under $200 including shipping.

You will need to have the arms fitted to your ears which some eyeglass dispensers will do for free, some will charge $10 and some will not do if the glasses were not purchased from them.

You have to be careful that you buy the correct width of glasses. I chose one pair of frames that are too wide and make my ears stick out like Prince Charles'. I also chose a 10% blue tint on one pair and the colour was a very light blue which I should have foreseen.

IIRC, this is a CA company that has the glasses made in Hong Kong.

Next prescription change, I will be buying two pair of trifocals, two pair of computer glasses, a pair of sunglasses and a pair of safety glasses so I can measure and cut wirh my power saws without having to change glasses. I expect these six pairs will cost far less than the one pair from Costco.

*****Not everyone can get Lasik. You need to have a certain kind of eye issue that is not my eye issue.*****

You're right. And man, I feel sorry for people who get turned away. It was seriously the most awesome thing I ever did. I started wearing glasses at the age of ten, and being able to see the alarm clock when I wake up in the middle of the night is totally worth it. :D

When I was young I had 20/15 vision and a race car driver's reflexes. Ah, those were the days. My far vision is still pretty good, but my near version has taken the diamond lane to hell. I'm not yet at the point of getting a prescription; right now I'm just using off-the-shelf reading glasses, but the day is probably not too far away. And yes, I've actually had someone on the other side of the table at the restaurant hold up the menu for me.

Be alert to the quality of the lab that actually grinds your lenses. I have a 4-year-old prescription which allows a full field of view; images remain in focus when you move your eyes. I just threw out another newer pair -- the store couldn't understand why pointing your head at what you wanted to see was a bother.

A lens grinder who doesn't know the machine can give you sorry lenses.

Yes, Amy, I know, your eyes are up there... it's the lab, honest!