Little acorns everywhere.

A couple of weeks ago, in a fit of frustration over something completely random, my 3rd grader blurted out to me "And ALSO? I can't see the board at school, and my teacher makes me sit in the back!"

My heart sank like a rock.  It was the same year in school for me, that it was discovered I could see precisely jack shit when it came to reading chalk scratches on a green board. And so, the summer between 3rd and 4th grade I got new glasses, along with a haircut that offered me no grace whatsoever, and showed up at school that fall looking like a totally different person. Before that year, the kids at school generally thought I was maybe a little weird, but likeable. After I got glasses, though, I was a little weird, AND I looked like a freak, and they had no problem making sure I knew it. Likeable no longer got me by, and so my self-esteem crashed like a Kamikaze into the beaches of Pearl Harbor.

I'm maybe still a little bitter about that.

Anyway, I'm please to tell you that the offering of glasses for kids is a totally different world than it was 30 years ago - they are cute! And have lots of personality. There wasn't a Buddy Holly coke-bottle frame to be seen.  So Drew picked out a pair of brown, slightly tortoise shell frames, and they will be ready in a week or so. His vision is not as bad as mine was initially, he only needs the glasses to read the board at school, or maybe to watch TV if there's small lettering like scoreboxes during a football game. He doesn't need them playing soccer. It will probably get worse each year for the next few years, but at least we got on it early enough that he hasn't fallen behind because of it.

PS - His teacher makes him sit in the back because he talks too much, too loudly, and can't stay in his seat for more than 2.8 seconds at a time. Yeah, he got that from me, too.

PPS - People, get your kids eyes checked, regularly. And not at the pediatrician's office, just during the annual check up. Go to an eye doctor. It makes a difference. Last August, the pediatrician did an eye test and told me his vision was 20/40, which is apparently on target for eight years old. I know a lot can change in a short time, but now he is 20/125 and 20/150. Big difference.