Four-Eyes

My Dad had glasses, my big brother, sister, and cousin who lived with us all had glasses.  I wanted glasses!  I was six years old and in the first grade.  Our school nurse performed a vision test on each student and I passed.  I was confused.  "But one of the letters was blurryyyy..." I insisted.

"You don't need glasses.  Your vision is fine." the nurse insisted.

Not to be discouraged, I lay on the top bunk of my bunk bed when I got home, staring at the ceiling light.  "Mom! I think I need glasses.  I see spots everywhere!"  

Somehow, my very practical, under-cautious mother believed me and took me in for a second opinion at an optometrist's office and I got my glasses!

The next day at school, I found that nurse and gloated, "I got glasses!"

She was so mad!  "I told you, you don't need glasses!"  

That stung a little, but obviously somebody knew I needed glasses.  Her disapproval dampened my excitement, but only for a moment.

"You look funny..." my classmates commented as I waited in line to sharpen my pencil, proudly sporting my brand-new clear marble-pink plastic 80's/90's large frame glasses (which are back in style now by the way... WHY????).

"Children!" my teacher scolded, "that isn't polite."  

I didn't mind at all.  I had my glasses!

But, it didn't last long.  Maybe only one or two years until a follow up eye exam happened when I moved from Kansas to California and my family had to find a new optometrist. "Why does she have glasses??" they asked.  "Her vision is fine!"

I guess that school nurse was right all along...