Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Focus

K, P, R and I spent the afternoon at the pediatrician's office for 6 year old well-child appointments. For posterity, their sizes are:
K 42 inches tall 35.5 lbs
P 43 inches tall 34.5 lbs
R 44 inches tall 37 lbs.
(Petite!)

I rejoiced as the pediatrician remarked at how healthy they are. The only real trace of preemie in them seems to have fallen on P. (Bless him, Baby C!) As our smallest (2lbs6oz at birth), he always seems to be the one with preemie related issues.

It seems his vision is not so terrific. After our trip to Colorado, my husband remarked that we needed to have his vision checked.
Initially, I dismissed his concerns. P is a remarkable reader and loves small intricate things.
"I think he is nearsighted. He can't find frisbees after we throw them or see sights along the side of the road that we point out," my husband countered.
"That's just because he's not paying attention," I argued.

It seems my husband was right on target. I was shocked (and saddened and embarrassed--but enough about me) in the office today at just how severely near sighted he is. I even quipped to the nurse, "I am an attentive Mom..."

When they positioned him the required 20 feet from the eye chart, he could only read the first line accurately. After the nurse, a medical student repeated the test using a different chart with the same verdict. I initially thought he was goofing off he was stumped so early. How could I have missed such a deficit?

K & R tried to prove that they needed glasses too--to no avail. They read the chart with ease.

I felt terrible about the detail P has been missing--especially since I had written it off as 'just the way he is.' Meanwhile, P took the news in stride. As I talked with the pediatrician, P was working on a piece of paper. When we finished chatting he handed me the following message with a grin.
"I am goig to have gllasses."

I am with him every day and I missed the signs. My husband, who in fairness is a doctor, but NOT an optometrist or a pediatrician picked up on it before I did, despite spending much less time with him. But, my husband has something else in his corner--he has been there. My husband started wearing glasses for nearsightedness at age 7. He is sensitive to childhood vision issues because he has been though it.

Tonight we talked excitedly with P about how amazed he was going to be once he got his glasses. We cannot wait to watch him rediscover the detail he has been missing from the world. My husband still remembers his first discovery--when he walked through the yard with his glasses on, he could see blades of grass, not just green blobs.

What a picture of life without the perspective of Christ and the Gospel. Jesus brings things into focus. We are able to see life as it was intended through a filter of truth and grace and love. Can you remember? How different things looked before Christ in your life and after? Weren't you blown away by what you had been missing?

"I once was blind but now I see..."

Once we have experienced the difference we should be ever sensitive to others who need those glasses of faith to make sense of a world that has become characterized by blobs. Especially the ones who don't even realize it!

15 comments:

Bailey's Leaf said...

P probably compensates for his deficit. You've reasoned things like a rational mom. That is why the doctor has the eye chart. Believe me, I'm happy to have K-'s eye's checked each year. Things slip past us. Your husband doesn't get to spend quite as much time with the kids and is a troubleshooter in his job. He is trained to look at things from a bit different angle.

Glad that P is good with glasses. We'll have to see pictures of the new spiffy eyes!

Beth Whitehill said...

You are such a good mom! You P may be nearsighted, and you may have missed the signs but I know by reading about your sweet family that his heart is being molded into an amazing little man. Don't beat yourself up. Looking forward, it is very positive! I hope the transition for him is an easy one.

Just a note, I must have an amazon child! My daughter just turned 3 and she is 32 lbs and 40 in tall!

Keep up the amazing work your do! I'm encouraged by you!!

Liz said...

Can't wait to see a picture of your little sweetie in his glasses! When my daughter got them (she was 3), we watched the episode of Arthur where he got glasses over & over! I bet you can find it on DVD on eBay. :)

The Bouldins said...

I remember discovering that trees have leaves(!) when I put on my glasses the first time. My dad says he and Mom were worried that I might not like them/wear them/etc. but once I saw all the detail I'd been missing, I refused to take them off!

(And it took my teacher talking with my mom before my parents realized I had a problem. :) )

Tracy said...

My sweet girl got her first pair of glasses at 6 too ... and, I completely missed the signs. I actually said these words to the school nurse when she called to tell me T. had failed the eye exam ... "I'm her mother and I think I would know if she couldn't see." Talk about eating crow when she couldn't see the big E!

T. loved her glasses and announced that there were leaves on the trees as we rode home ... those glasses were so necessary!

Don't beat yourself up ... you are not alone!

twiceasnice said...

Congrats P on getting glasses! You are going to be one handsome dude!

Elizabeth said...

I remember commenting on the leaves when I got my glasses as well. To this day my mother (of 4) says she never felt as bad as she did driving me home with my new glasses seeing everything for the first time. I think children do compensate for what is missing plus never know what they are missing. P will be adorable in the new glasses!

Susan said...

Beautiful analogy! And, a great way for me to remember to show compassion for those seeing blobs.

Mel said...

My daughter, age 4, got her glasses this spring. She failed the screening done by the health dept. at her preschool. I figured she was just being shy and didn't speak loud enough but took her to the eye dr anyway. Turns out she has refractive amblyopia - she couldn't see out of her left eye! It's been this way since birth. :( She was running into walls, tripping on stairs, etc but I attributed it to not slowing down and being a girl. She hasn't had one run in with a wall or stairs since she got her glasses. She keeps them on all the time - she loves them.

I'm sure P will love exploring the world with his new glasses. :)

Amy said...

Don't feel bad at all! My own wonderful and attentive mother didn't know that I needed glasses until it was figured out that I was getting headaches from squinting in school.

I never said anything about not being able to see well- I thought that was just how the world looked!

Jill said...

All three of my children wear glasses. My middle daughter got her first pair at 2 years old. She had been seeing a Ped Optomotrist since two weeks for a
lazy eyelid. At her two year visit the eyelid had "miraculosly" healed but her
Astigmatism was so bad she was nearly blind. God was surly watching out for her!
The first day she wore the glasses she came home and looked at a basket of books for no less than 3 hours. I cried. She was missing so much and I had no idea.
Last year my five year old at her checkup found out that her one eye had an issue that would have caused her to go blind without glasses. Again I felt like a bad mom.
Her reaction "Yeah I get to be like the rest of the family and wear glasses!"
Isn't it amazing how wonderful the world is when we can really see!

k and c's mom said...

May God give us ALL new focus! As a teacher, I think summer is the perfect time to adjust to his new glasses. Can't wait to hear his response to clearer vision. (Unless he writes it to you!)

Mary Lou said...

what a beautiful analogy you drew for us...made tears come up in my eyes...quit beating yourself up, your husband is more sensitive to it because of his own life. I've worn glasses since I was ten...I've not taken them off, for I love to see what is going on around me..though I take them off alot when I read (bifocals tend to mess up the vision, ha, ha). He will do great with them, he will enjoy really "seeing" everything. Praying that his heart will always be open to the things of God, as well as your other two...I am the wretch in that song, who now "sees" and it's so wonderful.

Angie said...

I enjoy your blog so much!

Elisia said...

How cute! Can't wait to see him in his new glasses...he's seems like such a sweet boy!