I have now been wearing glasses for a month. Well, I say "wearing". If I'm honest, I've probably had them on for no more than two or three hours each day - and the bulk of that while watching television.

I must admit, despite every spec-wearing friend telling me I'd quickly get used to them, I'm finding it hard.

When I first put them on I couldn't believe the difference they made. It was as if a miracle had been performed. I could identify birds at the bottom of our garden when all I had seen for years were dark blobs moving around. I could see buds on trees and distant landmarks like telephone masts and pylons and other attractive environmental features.

I was thrilled to regain the 20-20 vision I used to have. But there have been problems. Whether other spectacle-wearers experience these difficulties, I don't know. Since I got them I have found: l They are another thing to lose. Along with other vital, easily misplaced items such as car and house keys, I can't keep track of them. I lose them at least half-a-dozen times a day, and end up wailing to my family: "Where are my glasses, can't anyone help me find my glasses?" There have been times too numerous to mention when I have found the case yet not the glasses. This has certainly increased stress levels and I'm pondering buying a chain to hang them around my neck.

l I need them one second, but not the next. I'm short-sighted and use them mostly for watching TV, but as I'm usually reading a newspaper at the same time I have to take them on and off. I do this by lifting them on to my head, but when I try to lower them again, they become caught in my hair.

l They are a pain when drinking tea, or other hot drinks. As an avid tea drinker, I have been unable to sup my favourite cuppa without my glasses steaming up. My husband, who has worn glasses since childhood, says it does not happen to him and finds it hilarious.

l They are a magnet for small children. Friends' toddlers make a beeline for them, grabbing them with their sticky hands before trying to prise them off my face.

When you don't own a pair of glasses you have no idea how much they cost - even for a basic pair - and don't realise how important it is to protect them.

As for my appearance. I don't have any hang ups about that.

At 45 and long-married I am well past the stage of worrying about the "men don't make passes to girls that wear glasses" sort of stuff - which doesn't really apply today with so many wonderful styles to choose from.

I have been told they make me look more authoritative than usual, more assertive.