Familial reaction to the new glasses is mixed. Older Child took long look, made non-committal noises, and then said they looked “perfectly normal.” Perhaps high praise coming from teenager, yet “perfectly normal” not what I was going for.

Husband’s reaction even stranger. Made non-committal noises, then said that frames, which I ordered in “rose gold,” were really shiny. Unusually shiny. Surprisingly so. Is that even a thing? Shiny is shiny, surely? Questioned him more closely. He backpedaled, saying that the shininess could be a useful safety feature: if I’m walking at night and a car approaches, the headlights will glint off my frames and blind the driver, who, whilst  temporarily unable to steer safely, will at least be alerted to my presence. “Useful safety feature” also not what I was going for.

I can see why Napoleon surrounded himself with yes men.

Actually: did he? Am googling “Did Napoleon surround himself with yes men?” First hits include a Forbes article entitled, “Are You Creating ‘Yes Men’ And Hindering Your Own Something,” a second Forbes article entitled, “Your Inner Circle: Beware of Suck-Ups and Yes-Men,” and a govexec.com article entitled, “Good Leaders Don’t Surround Themselves with Yes Men.”

Which doesn’t answer question at all, because I suspect that last title might really mean, “Gosh, We Wish Leaders Would Stop Surrounding Themselves with Yes Men,” and also because I’m realizing that I don’t know if Napoleon was considered a good leader, and what is the definition of “good leader” anyway, and perhaps I’m drawn to Napoleon because I was always the sort of person who wanted to be in charge but was never going to get voted in.

Note to self: google “Did the word ‘bossy’ show up on young Napoleon’s report cards?” in copious free time.