Fifi's Glasses

Just over a month or so ago, an optician came to Fifi's nursery to do a routine screening. I was given a note saying her vision on one eye appeared reduced, and she'd be scheduled for another screening at the hospital. That screening was today, and I was really nervous about it. She's only a wee thing, and it seems such a shame for such a wee girl to need glasses. But I tried to stay positive and think that maybe it would turn out a false alarm.

We went in this afternoon, and Fifi was an absolute champion. They gave her a few eye tests, like watch this ribbon, which box has the ball in it, what colour is this, etc. They then put wee little opticians spectacles on her (cute ones that looked like little flowers) and did a proper eye test, where she held a sheet of 6 different letters and the nurse held up a card with the letters ranging in size and had her pick from her own card which letter she was pointing to. Sure enough, as the letters got smaller, Fifi's ability to pick them out lessened.

She was then given 'magical eye drops' that would make her eyes 'shine' (e.g. dilate). We went for a wee pancake and juice in the cafe while we waited for the drops to work, then went in for an actual eye exam. The optician checked her eyes with a flashlight and all the rest and concluded that she did indeed need glasses. My heart sunk. Fifi seemed happy enough, but I had to fight back a tear. She was written a prescription for glasses and away we went.

Next stop was Reid Mackellars to look at glasses. Luckily (for us) the NHS provides certain styles of glasses for children, so we looked at the free ones first. Fifi had her heart set on purple ones, but there were no purple ones in the free section. She found a gorgeous little pair of purple ones that even I admit I was tempted by, but finally I decided on the pink free ones. She was a bit disappointed (though the pink ones are lovely on her, very suitable for her hair and skin colour), so I made her a deal. If she takes very good care of her pink glasses and shows us how responsible she can be with them, we will buy her the purple ones. She was satisfied with that.

I know that it's good really that she's getting these. At her age, there's a chance glasses will correct her vision impairment, and she won't need them forever. But on the other hand, she's so young, and I don't want her to be considered the nerdy kid for having glasses. Which is why I really could've been swayed with the funky purple ones she liked! (Also, I figure once the novelty wears off, it's gonna be hard to get her to wear them, especially if she's not that keen on them!) But oh well. Glasses aren't the end of the world. And I have a feeling that little girl will know how to rock them. She's pretty confident, and I think she has the ability to totally make them look cool. One thing I swear: I will NOT make her ever wear dorky glasses for any reason short of absolute poverty.

She'll get her glasses in about a week. I'll post pictures of them then. I'm glad Fifi's so excited about them. I've been acting really excited too, for her sake. But inside, I'm just a dorky kid with glasses myself, and I am pretty upset for her.