When I was young, if I had been asked this question, I think I would have answered, ‘My eyes’.

Everyone always told me what a lovely colour they were (blue) and I guess I assumed that was true.

As is normal, my eyes are still blue. And, nowadays,they are the most colourful thing on my face – though my lips usually look as though I’m wearing lipstick even when I’m not.

Anyway, my eyes. One of them is and always has been lazy. I think that means that my right eyelid droops a little more than my left but it probably also means that it doesn’t see as well as my left one. This is true. I have astigmatism in my right eye and always have had. Glasses, when I was a child, did nothing to correct the sight in my right eye but they did give me ferocious headaches and made everything I looked at seem to be on a slant.

To me, my sight was great as long as I could use both eyes at the same time. I could see which bus number was coming better than many people, I could read and sew and watch tv and all sorts of things as well as anyone, if I used both eyes.

I began having a bit of trouble seeing things ‘close-up‘ when I was in my forties. I bought half-moon type glasses so that I could write on the blackboard but still look at the kid at the back of the class who was making a silly noise. They worked well and I always had at least one pair of “over the counter” glasses, nearby.

Now, we come to old age. It was only in 2020 that I noticed I couldn’t see bus numbers as easily as before, so went to the optician, in between lockdowns. My eyes were checked and found to be in need of glasses both for reading and seeing bus numbers. My first glasses were sent by post and I never did have them made slightly tighter so that they wouldn’t fall off when I looked down.

That year, I had my first ever bifocals. Glasses seem to have advanced since the 1950’s! I no longer see things on a slant, nor do I get dreadful headaches.The optician gave me a little chart with squares on and told me to look at this chart every once in a while. If the squares weren’t in line or if there were gaps, I should make an urgent appointment to see her. I didn’t see any change in the little squares.

All was well, in the eye department until I noticed that I would see a star as my eyes passed over the night sky but when I looked directly at the spot where I had seen the star, I COULDN’T SEE IT! I checked again and realised that I COULD see it if I looked out of the side of my eye.

This, dear reader, was the first sign of a cataract.

This year I went to the optician (as I do every year, nowadays). He (notice how the gender keeps changing, along with the optician!) asked why I hadn’t had my cataract removed last year! I answered that last year’s optician told me that it would need ‘doing’ this year. Well, it looks like my right (lazy) eye is going to have its cataract removed as soon as the waiting list gets to me – maybe this year, maybe next. And by then the other eye will need the op! Oh, well, getting old is, I suppose, better than the alternative!

So – my favourite thing about myself? I think I would say, my heart. It just keeps ticking away. Good job, heart! ♥️