Yay Glasses! Wait...

I brought my boys to see the optometrist today on the advice of their doctor, who said they'd gotten to the point where they'd probably need glasses. Given that both their mother and father need eye correction, this was no big surprise.

Both boys, friendly as they are, immediately started chatting with the tech as they were led off to their exams. I only hoped they'd be quiet long enough to pay attention and answer the doctor's questions accurately. The eldest boy proclaimed that his eyes were "really bad" and squinted professionally for the tech, before even stepping foot in the exam room. Meanwhile and at the same time, the youngest was declaring that he "sees double" and needed glasses. This was the first I'd heard of the double vision, and indeed the first vision complaint from either of them ever. The tech was grinning as she led the youngest away for his exam.

I was a little nervous about the dilation drops they'd be given, but this turned out to be less of a hit than the ocular pressure test. The one where they gently blast a puff of air onto your eyeball. The eldest exaggerated rubbing his eye and expressing annoyance, but he was smiling.

In the end they both needed glasses, causing them both to break out in whoops of joy and immediately begin selecting their frames. I imagine their joy will fade gradually as they realize the glasses are not a toy and Mom and Dad get upset if they get lost or broken, even if they are almost fully covered by insurance. Still, helping them pick out good-looking frames was fun, much more fun than when I was a kid. All I had to choose from was plastic, in a big boxy shape too large for my face, in tortoiseshell or an awful orange-red that screamed, "I'm a dork in red plastic glasses!" It was the beginning of the 80's. Everyone had big dorky-looking plastic glasses. But that didn't make it any better. I never wore them. In fact I never consistently wore eye correction until I was twenty-nine and training to be an optician. I learned I only needed to wear a contact in one eye, and voila, clear vision and depth perception all at once.

My eldest picked out plastic frames, but these frames are slim rectangles of black plastic lined in neon green and accented with white. Far cooler than anything I had available. The youngest was looking for red frames, but settled for blue-green metal frames with spring hinges and narrow rectangular lenses. Eminently cool. If I had had access to frames like that, I would have worn my glasses every day. Not only that, but both boys get lenses that transition to sunglass lenses outdoors and return to clear lenses inside. All paid for by the insurance. Sheesh!

Of course the highlight of the day was the free sunglasses you get when you have your eyes dilated. The boys loved them...

...although they got some strange looks at Dairy Queen as they ate their sundaes, earned for good behavior.

I'm making an eye appointment for myself tomorrow.