Ike Got Glasses!

 I always tried to keep a back up pair of glasses for myself, in case something happened to my original pair, since I wear mine all day every day and don't currently have contacts in my prescription. However, about a year or two ago my prescription changed and while I got one pair of glasses on the spot, I never got back up pairs from ZenniOptical, as I usually do. And then, to my dismay, one day a few months ago, my glasses broke while I was cleaning them on my way to work one day. This sucked because with no back up pairs and my being unable to function without glasses, I had to go find a place that would be able to make me glasses on the spot. That meant, not only did I need to pay retail price for my glasses instead of the much more heavily discounted price for online ones, I also needed to pay a premium for glasses made on the spot.

And since those months ago, I didn't have a spare pair of glasses.

Last week, though, I had a dream that my glasses broke, but since I still didn't have a back up pair from Zenni I was screwed. Fortunately I woke up and took that as a reminder to get back up glasses from Zenni. While I was picking out frames, my 10 year old son was sitting on the bed with me, giving his input as to which frames I should pick, and casually mentioned that he doesn't see so well at school.

This was the first time I heard of it, but not incredibly surprising. I myself got glasses in third grade, and Ike is already in fifth. Mike also wears glasses. I said that since we had time that day, I would take him immediately to the eye doctor to get his eyes checked. And did that within the hour.


Once we got to the eye glasses place, the optometrist checked him out, and tested his vision on the chart. I could tell there was a clear problem when he already got a few things wrong on the second line and the third line he thought was entirely 3's.

The optometrist looked at me and said plainly "This kid needed glasses a year ago, why didn't you bring him until now?" I told him the first I heard of any seeing issues was an hour ago, and I came as soon as I could.

The optometrist said his prescription is over -1.0 in each eye, but since its his first pair of glasses, he was going to start him just with -1.0 in each eye.


Once the optometrist took off the testing glasses, Ike said "Wow, everything looks weird now." I said that once he saw what it looks like to "really see things" not wearing them makes everything look weird, but it was the same as he was seeing until now.

Ike went to pick out glasses, and I was prepared to let him pick pretty much whatever he wanted, since glasses are an every day item and a big part of our existence, and its important to feel good about your glasses. I got glasses when I was 9 but I wasn't allowed to pick metal frames like I wanted until I was 11, and wasn't allowed to get small oval frames like I wanted until I was 13, and to this day, I am embarrassed to look at pictures of me from that time because I hate how I was forced to look. It was important to me that Ike find what he loved, since it was his face and his glasses we're talking about. The only input from me was suggesting frames for him to try on if he didn't think to try one, but beyond that, the choice was entirely him.

Luckily, the optometrist told me that with our health insurance, the eye exam was entirely free and the glasses cost only $6, as long as he picked them from a certain section of the store.

As Ike was trying on the glasses, he said that while the glasses he was picking were his favorite, he still likes how he looks better without his glasses, and he only plans on wearing them as needed, to see far things, because "style". I said that he should probably wear them all the time, and hopefully once they arrive he'll appreciate being able to see.

Yesterday, Ike got his glasses for the first time.

And can I say, he looks really charming? It makes him look so much more grown up, and handsome, and I really like what he picked out, even if it wasn't my taste per se (I like my oval or rectangle glasses), and I'm glad he likes them as well.

But the best part is seeing him walk around and saying "Mommy, I can see these words! Can you? Before it was all a blur!"

And then he says "Mommy, everything is shiny now!" That is so adorable to hear.

I told him things aren't shiny, that's just what they really look like when they aren't blurred. And this just showed how much he needs the glasses.

And yes, he said he does plan on wearing them all the time. I'm really happy to hear that.

Meanwhile, the same day that I got Ike checked, I had Lee get checked as well. He said he didn't want to, because even though he can't see well, he hates how glasses look and he will refuse to wear them. I mentioned contacts to him but he said he didn't want that either.
Fortunately, when checked, the doctor said he has some problems with his vision, but not enough to need glasses. Yet. And to bring him back next year to check.

And of course, Lee had to try them on too. He also looks great!

So Lee has another whole year to hopefully get used to the concept of wearing glasses one day.

Do you wear glasses? How old were you when you got them? What is your favorite style to wear?