So Kalessin finally got his glasses, after complaining for a few months about not seeing the board at school. It started pretty quickly–I don’t recall him ever saying anything about this last school year, nor does he–and first I thought he was just complaining as usual about the teachers. In fact, his main complaint was about Spanish class, and on “Back To School Night” I noted the board was light green, and the teacher wrote on it in light blue chalk. Heck, I could barely see what she had there, and my sight is still pretty good, though not as sharp as back when I was known as “Hawkeye” at a certain bus stop in Budapest, because I could tell which bus was coming before anyone else had any idea. (All right, so I was called “Hawkeye” only once, but still.) The teacher said she was getting white boards soon, and I thought that would take care of the problem, but it didn’t. In fact, it soon became clear that he was having problems in other classes too, most noticeably, algebra, where “I’ll assume that’s an 8, but it could be a 3″ is not a good strategy. Then during our trip to New York, when he wanted to read what all the signs on all the statues and monuments said and was having problems–even though I could see them all very clearly–it became obvious that he indeed needed glasses.
I took him to his regular doctor first (a group practice) because they had told me that they could deal with it right there. The doctor that saw him had a different idea though, so we took care of the well visit that had been due for six years (yes, I know, I know), and then made an appointment with the ophthalmologist she recommended.
The result: refractive myopia, requiring -1.5 lenses. (I thought it would be more. I mean, less. Okay, stronger.) So he got the glasses last week, and, even though he was told he didn’t need to wear them all the time, only for the board at school, he puts them on to watch TV now. He seems quite happy with how he looks in them, which is years older and more serious. On Sunday he wore them for the first time outside, and his comment was:
“Wow. The world is like–in high resolution!”
So that’s the computer generation for you, or whatever it is they’re going to be called.
I wrote this yesterday, but apparently I failed to actually publish it….
By: thirdculturemom on January 2, 2008
at 12:20 pm
I felt the same sense of astonishment when I got glasses … I hadn’t really realized how poorly I was seeing. Unlike your son, however, I hated the damned things. My eye doctor told my parents they shouldn’t let me have contacts, because children are irresponsible, and boys are clumsy with small objects. *sigh*
By: davidrochester on January 2, 2008
at 1:59 pm
I think Harry Potter has something to do with K’s acceptance of glasses, even though the ones he chose are quite different. (Not round but thin.) Or maybe it’s generally less of a deal these days, because more kids have them–I’m not sure. He hasn’t been to school with them yet, so maybe I’m talking too early. He says he plans to tell anyone who even looks at him “the answer to your question is ‘yes, I got glasses’ ” before they can open their mouths.
By: thirdculturemom on January 2, 2008
at 2:21 pm
Mine has glasses too, but doesn’t wear them that much. I don’t really think he needs them.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that slacks off with the doctor visits.
By: Wanda Rizzuto on January 2, 2008
at 4:32 pm
I’m glad he’s happy and can see now! All three of mine have worn glasses at one time or another. The middle one had to wear them from about age 9 months! That was fun trying to keep them on her.
I’ve worn glasses since seventh grade but probably needed them since I was in about fifth grade. We didn’t have insurance for eyeglasses so I couldn’t get them. As soon as my dad’s job covered them, I got them. It did make a world of difference!
By: Corina on January 3, 2008
at 6:27 am
I could only keep one of my three in glasses. They all needed them. The one that chose to actually wear them did a lot better in school than the other two and said it was a conscious choice to be able to see clearly.
Now that they’re all adults, she’s still the only one who uses them. Not needs, mind you. Uses.
By: Ina on January 3, 2008
at 2:02 pm
“High resolution,” that’s a great way of describing it…(& so contemporary).
By: TheOtherIvy on January 3, 2008
at 3:25 pm
Wanda, Kalessin definitely needs them. I had to work through some algebra problems for him where the 3 or 8 issue created an extra variable, and I was not happy….
Corina, we don’t have optical insurance either. My hubby didn’t choose it from the package, since none of us needed it before. (One of the problems with a private insurance system: the people who know they’ll need the coverage sign up, the people who think they won’t, don’t.)
That’s pretty bad, Ina. Were they refusing to wear them?
I thought it was pretty funny, Ivy.
By: thirdculturemom on January 3, 2008
at 7:22 pm
Cute.
When my daughter got her contacts, the first thing she said was, “Wow, the trees have leaves!” She used to see them as a green blur.
By: pandemonic on January 4, 2008
at 11:32 am
I remember getting my first glasses while in high school. Yes, I could see, but it was the final stamp of proof on my geek dossier.
I need them now, but Mrs. Stevo is reluctant, saying my eyes will get worse, and I become “aholic” (her term for any addiction).
By: Stevo on January 6, 2008
at 12:33 pm
When I got glasses, it was the first time I could see color gradations in a lot of things: tree bark, dirt, leaves, grass… And everything seemed so sharp, like a world of paper cutouts.
I absolutely love that you call him Kalessin. Those books are even closer to my heart than Harry Potter.
By: tigereye on January 17, 2008
at 7:47 pm
When I started first grade, I was failing to learn to read. Eventually, someone noticed that I couldn’t see the alphabet written on the board. When I received thick glasses I learned to read. Now at 63 I an losing my night vision, so I will probably run into a blackboard at night.
By: modestypress on January 19, 2008
at 12:52 pm
I just got new glasses…well…a few months ago. I felt that astonishment. And now I’m finding reading to be difficult. The thing with progressive lenses is there’s only a narrow region where text is in focus. Hmm. Do you know if having reading glasses and outdoor glasses makes a person dizzy.?
I found the new ones made me dizzy for several days.
By: Amoeboid Blurry Smile on January 28, 2008
at 1:11 pm