Monday, March 28, 2011

If Superman Can Have Them, So Can I

I have this problem where there are really dark, puffy circles under my eyes. I can't remember a time when I didn't have them. And I didn't mind them so much because I saw Superman with them in one of his comic books as a kid (see here). But people can't seem to get over them. I was asked constantly at my first real job if I'd gotten into a fight the day before. And I had to reassure my coworkers that my eyes just turned blue and puffy if I got up too early.

And I can usually trace the dark circles down to a couple of factors. Number one is lack of sleep. But since November of 2006 (the birth of our oldest child), I've given up on getting enough rest. If I can function, I'm good. And my diet seems to play a part in the color saturation and puffiness. But I don't see myself changing my eating habits any time soon. So I think I can deal with the eye bags.

But it seems that recently, they've started getting worse again. I'm not so vain that I've noticed it. But people keep asking me if I'm alright when they see me before 10am. And just last week, I had a friend come up to me at church on Sunday morning and ask how I was doing. I replied with my usual, "I'm doing fine. A little tired, but I feel good." And his response was not "that's nice" or "glad to hear it." He went with, "You LOOK tired. Did you sleep last night? Are you alright?" So I had to go to the bathroom to make sure I didn't have a busted blood vessel in my eye or something. And sure, I looked like I had two black eyes, but anyone who's seen me more than once in their life knows that's just how I look. So I figured he can get over it.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My nephew has the same problem and it was traced back to allergies.

Emily said...

Assuming this is you you're speaking of (i've never noticed them) do you think it has anything to do with playing Xbox until the wee hours of the morning?! I know your wife doesn't read this, so I figured I would speak for her :)