Monday Memories 048::New Glasses

first day with glasses, April 2012

 

In March 2012 we went to Kindergarten registration, filled out all the necessary paperwork, and went through the routine eye screening.

Second Daughter covered her right eye and read most of the chart.

She then covered her left eye and after reciting the letters on the first line, she was silent.

"Honey, go ahead and read the letters," I encouraged her.

Silence.

"Sweetheart..."

"I can't."

I tucked the tufts of hair that normally hung over her right eye behind her ear and asked her to try again.

She turned to me and whispered into my arm, "I can't see it, Mom."

My heart sank. 

What?

She really can't see it?

It wasn't so much the concern or surprise of her needing glasses, but rather a feeling that I had failed her for not noticing that she was having trouble seeing. 

My sweet girl.

I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and protect her from that moment.

I wanted to make everything right for her.

 

I immediately thought it was my fault.

Her weak eye is the one that has been hidden behind her hair for the majority of her life.

If only I was more diligent about doing her hair...

If only I was insistent that she kept her hair out of her face...

Maybe then her eye would have been stronger...

 

But dwelling on any of those thoughts for very long wasn't going to do any good.

Having glasses is definitely not the end of the world and there definitely are worse things than bad eye sight.  And regardless of the reason of her poor eye sight (which the doctor assured me had nothing to do with the hair in her eyes - the hair was more likely not bothering her because of her already poor eye sight) all we could do was do what we could to help her.  So, we did some research, asked some friends for doctor recommendations, checked on our insurance, and got her some glasses.

 

She was really concerned at first that her friends wouldn't recognize her with glasses.  But when she realized how jealous her sisters were that they didn't get to wear glasses like she did, she was suddenly more than excited to wear them. :)

 

From day one, she has been very responsible with her glasses.  She remembers to put them on first thing in the morning and remembers to put them somewhere safe before bed.  She takes them off in the car before falling asleep on long drives.  She likes to keep them clean and finger print free. 

 

And the best news of all - her eyesight is actually improving!  Even though she will never be glasses free without surgery, her prescription has decreased and she is very excited about her right eye getting stronger.  That has been the best motivator for her to consistently wear her glasses.

 

 

 

So...you may also like::

::Monday Memories 046::Fields of Gold

::Monday Memories 043::Second Daughter Turns One

::Monday Memories 021::Second Daughter

 

Thanks for stopping by!