Life hands you challenges sometimes. When you are faced with these, it is often difficult to understand why.
I have two young boys that were born with a rare genetic eye disorder called ectopia lentis.
I don’t know exactly why this happened.
All I do know is that it has put us on a path in life that is beyond anything we expected. We have been connected to amazing people we never would have met otherwise. We have had to test our mettle over and over each time victorious in the knowledge that as a family, we can overcome any obstacle.
So, I may not know exactly why vision challenges came into our lives. At least now I’ve had time and growth to realize some of the amazing lessons that have gone along with it.
If we can do this, we can do anything.
Think about any challenge you have lived through or are living with right now. If you can do that, you can do anything, too.
The sky’s the limit.
This is a pic of the boys being introduced by the director at the Vision is Priceless annual fundraiser. We are very thankful to this organization for all they do. Check out their link in my blog roll.
I had my annual eye exam yesterday. I figured if I volunteer for Vision is Priceless and I expect my boys to go through all the machinations of maintaining their vision and eye health, then I should be first in line at to get my own eyes tested. It was painless, quick and I finally ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses. Trust me, daily driving in the Floridian sun demands dark shades.
During the appointment I felt disproportionately anxious and emotional to what was actually happening. Here is why:
1. I was awake. Folks, that’s pretty much all it takes for me to feel disproportionately anxious and emotional.
2. Having to go through some of the necessary and slightly uncomfortable steps of my eye exam, like the pressure check with puffs of air and dilation drops, made me sad that my boys have had to do so much of this stuff at such an early age. I don’t like having to stand by and watch them cry as they get dilation drops or the doc struggles to keep them still to get a photograph of the inside of their eyes.
The woman that had walked me through the first steps of testing leading up to my actual exam asked me if it was all going alright. I confessed that I was thinking of my boys and their eye history. Since they are very well known at the optometrist, she understood my meaning.
She said that actually I’m quite lucky that my boys have been to exposed so much to doctors. She said she has fifteen year olds that refuse some parts of the eye testing because they are scared, defiant and/or crying.
So, my concern will no longer be feeling bad about their familiarity with all things medical and optical. I will be thankful they are learning to respect doctors and any tests that are required of them. My real concern is that soon, T.Puzzle and Full Speed will attempt to usurp the testers and run the show, equipment and the eye testing all on their own.
It’s a fine line for sure.
vision has never held these boys back, not one minute, not one second. We are very fortunate.
I know as a parent you are supposed to be teaching your children life skills. These skills can vary to the emotionally complex or be as simple as picking up dirty socks. I think the latter is the easier to teach on most days.
However, Full Speed and T.Puzzle have not yet learned how to help me with laundry and this is why….
[wpvideo esIzt6Nw]
At least I have something entertaining to watch as I sort through the boys’ socks that have successfully migrated to the laundry hamper (fingers crossed!).
So, T.Puzzle is going through this thing. He likes to be assertively independent more so than usual. Of course this will only apply as he sees fit. He is adamant about dressing himself yet doesn’t believe in wiping his own bottom.
This can make life interesting.
I picked him up early last week to go to the allergist. I made him use the potty at school before we left. It was taking forever so I peaked in on him. Lo and behold, little man is wiping his own bottom! Like I said, this is something he refuses to do at home. Well, game over kid, your stinky tush is now your responsibility. I say this with a grain of salt and an arsenal of stain remover and extra strength detergent stockpiled in my laundry room.
T.Puzzle’s independence has been creeping into other areas. I ordered him a cheeseburger and fries at dinner with white milk. When it arrived he had a myriad of complaints. He wanted chocolate milk and he doesn’t like fries. First of all, he has never drank chocolate milk in his entire life and secondly, what four year old boy doesn’t like fries?
A contrary one trying be his own man and attempting to turn all his mother’s hair gray.
I have the boys home for four days for a teacher institute and President’s Day. It is imperative to have daily outings if I intend to survive this long weekend. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, it simply has to get us out of the house.
I took them to Walmart. The deal is if they are well-behaved (relatively speaking) they can browse the toys with the knowledge they won’t be taking one home. They were good with that.
They were basically well-behaved. We did get our share of stern glances here and there. I’m not saying they were perfect.
As we unloaded our cart in the most disorganized fashion humanly possible, the cashier noticed I had purchased some art supplies.
“Gearing up for the long weekend at home are you?”
“Yes, I am. I’m hoping for the best.”
The cashier went on, “I completely understand, I raised three boys.”
With that, I let out a long breath and my posture relaxed. She was on my side. A mother of boys understands. I could tell she had survived a lot with her boys and was grateful that she was still able to be cheerful and kind.
Then, she went on to say the greatest lie I tell myself on the days I am ready to throw in the towel. “You’ll be grateful you have boys when they are older. It may be hard now, but it will be so much easier then.”
