Over the last, oh I don't know, several months? year? Whatever it was, it was too long. I've spent time being frustrated with Bug. We'd be bird watching, and all of us could clearly see the Baltimore oriole in the tree by the river, or the yellowthroat on top of the bush. Or we'd be on a bike ride, and see deer under the tree or a fox slinking under a fence. All of us could see it, except Bug. He would just keep saying "Where, where?" and then we'd all get frustrated, Bug because he thought we were doing a poor job of pointing to whatever we were looking at, and us because it felt like Bug just wasn't paying any attention.
And then Bug brings home a note from school that he failed his vision screening.
We quickly got an appointment with an ophthalmologist, and yes, my little Bug is significantly near sighted. It should have been obvious that the poor kid just couldn't see. Huge parental failure.
Bug, on the other hand, has been in complete denial. He keeps trying to convince us that he can see just fine. He doesn't need glasses. He likes things the way they are, thank you very much.
We spent a long time talking about how things are going to be fine. He's going to be even better at bird watching, and movies will be even more fun now that he can actually see them. He'll do better at school. And besides, all the really smart kids have glasses. And I wear glasses, so it won't be the same as when I was 12 and found out that I needed glasses . I was the only one in my family that needed them, and the teasing from my siblings was terrible.
The day after Bug's eye appointment, we took him to the optical store. There, we spent quite some time as he tried on pair after pair. He finally decided on a pair of Nike brand glasses in red, his favorite color. The next day they were ready.
I think he looks absolutely darling.
He, on the other hand, is still less than thrilled. While he admits that it's pretty cool to see things far away (he never realized he couldn't) he still would prefer to go without.
For our first outing with his new glasses, we took him to the Raptor Center to sit in the bird blind so that he could do some high quality bird watching with his new 20/20 vision. The entire time, he walked with his hands over his face so no one would see his glasses. He took them off as soon as we got in the car. Getting him to wear them at home is a struggle.
I'm hoping he gets used to them, that he starts wanting to see clearly. I've started wearing my glasses more often, to let him know that they are not a bad thing. I keep telling him how great they look on him, how much more grown up and smart he looks.
And when all else fails, I'll start with the bribery.
He looks adorable. I LOVE kids in glasses. I've been wondering about L's eyesight lately. I'll be secretly excited if he needs glasses.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize. I was 12 before my parents realized how near sighted I was. When I got my first pair of glasses I was AMAZED by how much better I could see! The other thing I noticed was that I felt like I was 10 feet tall for some reason! I didn't wear them all the time but as I get older I am beginning to find I want to wear them more and more. He'll get used to them eventually, I went through the same type of stuff trying to get used to mine. I hated having to wear them but I made it!
ReplyDeleteHang in there! :)
I'm sorry you were teased so badly! You have always looked good in your glasses. I like Bug's choice. Tell him I think he has great taste and yes, he looks sophisticated! Best of wishes for you both on this new look!
ReplyDeleteAwww. He looks great!
ReplyDeleteIt happened similarly for me. I'd been talking to my mom about how now they had cool contact lenses that changed your eye color, so when I told her I was having a hard time seeing, she didn't believe me. She thought I was just trying to change my eye color. Finally a teacher sent a note home saying I needed to get my eye cut. Sure enough, it was pretty bad. I was 15 at the time and went straight to contact lenses. I've been wearing them since. I have glasses but I hardly ever wear them, mostly just around the house. I love wearing glasses, I'm just used to contacts.
He looks great! I remember the limited options when I was a kid. I'm near-sighted in my left and far-sighted in my right eye so I have natural bi-focals. Which sucks because I have to close my right eye to read a book. lol! I love the look of (the right style) glasses and wish I could wear them.
ReplyDeleteHis glasses look great on him! Hopefully, he will naturally decide that he enjoys being able to see more clearly. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThey are adorable!
ReplyDeleteI remember WANTING to wear glasses as a kid. But when I finally got them in high school? Not so much.