Autopilot

Even when I know the power is out, I keep instinctively flipping light switches when I walk into a dark room. Last week I had a fairly minor surgical procedure on the bridge of my nose requiring several stitches and a large padded bandage to protect the wound. I was wearing contacts but the pressure of the tight wrap made it feel like I was wearing glasses. I kept reaching up to adjust the phantom spectacles as if they were askew. No matter how many times I verified that I was not wearing glasses, my instincts took control of my hands and continued to search for them. It was embarrassing to be talking to people while waggling my fingers around my upper face looking for specs. I became the spectacle. When I took my contacts out and wore glasses, the result was just as discouraging. I had underestimated the difficulty of fitting my blended trifocals over a bulky bandage on my nose. It was challenging to keep the glasses on but at least I could grab them and not thin air. It was difficult for the trifocals to work from a new angle. After 48 hours, I substituted a more conventional bandage whether I was supposed to or not. I still felt like I was wearing glasses. I expect my body is programmed like a smart phone to automatically take care of me and this convenience goes unnoticed until it starts autocorrecting non errors. This is similar to a boss who only notices when you are involved in a screw up. And even then, the boss is usually the reason for the mess.