September 22, 2011

A spectacle of sorts

Once upon a time, long long ago, a young girl of ten was mighty excited. She lived in a suburb in Mumbai and was an only child. Her parents had taken her on a local train to Fort area to a large spectacle shop. She loved the train ride and the promise of the superb noodles restaurant and her favourite corn soup. She dismissed the newly launched Maggi noodles which was such a rage among her classmates.

After choosing a specs frame, the girl excitedly displayed her skills with the fork while handling the noodles in the restaurant and when asked by her folks, seemed thrilled at the prospect of wearing specs.

This girl grew up, got married, had girls of her own. By now she was wearing lenses.

One day, her older six year old accompanied her to the lens shop. On a whim, she got her eyes checked as well.
And it turned out that she needed specs.

A good four years before her mom had got them.

The young girl who was now a mother was almost distraught. She went back in time and realised how excited she had been about wearing specs.

She told herself that she was being a bit silly. While her mind said it was alright, her heart was broken. She had wished for the better eye gene from her husband to pass on to the kids.

But the child's excitement made her put on a brave face. But she knew it would get cumbersome, there would surely be unsolicited comments in store.

She tried to prep the kid and then realised it was uncalled for.

For now, the child is revelling in her new and cool accessory.

15 comments:

sandhya said...

Oh, hugs, momma. If only we could choose which gene we pass on to our offspring. I went through the exact same emotions when A got her specs last year. She had, of course, inherited them from my side of the family. Yes, do keep a ear open for comments and most of all comments from peers. The kids need a lot of support then!

starry eyed said...

With the range in frames now available...specs are nothing if not uber-cool!! Hugs...I know the feeling, went thru it with Dhruv when he wore specs for a year. He doesn't need them now, but might need them at a later stage, apparently. Waiting for a pic of the smart-looking Miss!

Vibha said...

same happened here when Raghav got specs. As Anush, he was super excited to own a specs but I was distraught too. He had to go in for patching of one eye also, which went on for almost a year. But now it is part of his looks and I made peace with it.

I know Anush will look very studious with her new possession.

R's Mom said...

There is this book I got in a second hand shop for R which says 'Jill's Glasses' and how excited she is about wearing them...and like Starry says...its ubercool to wear glasses now a days :)

Hugs to you..and R will sure wear glasses both RD and I are almost half blind without them :)

GB said...

My mum was devastated (yup, that is the word) when I had to wear glasses though I didn't really care. Neither of my parents wears glasses,so she just couldn't believe it :D She really acted like the world had come to an end...hehe.

RS said...

I remember Mum being surprised that I had to begin wearing glasses at class 9 and I was super excited to wear them - made me look 'studious' :-). Im sure she will be enjoying the attention...

But as a Mom myself - I do pray that Chutku gets the Dad's genes in everything related to health...

Swapna said...

:-(
One more high powered, sometimes squint eyed mom here hoping that the kids take after the father!

On a brighter note, since you have diagonised so early, there is a good chance she can shun it off sooner.
All the best to you and Anush!

Gayatri said...

- Hugs
- Here's a case of dad with glasses mom with lens(had her glasses in her pocket all thru school - acting normal)and a six year old who hasn't had a check up cause dad is busy and mom is scared he'll need glasses!
- What say?

Unknown said...

Hugs :) I worry abt it all the time too.. for all you know, she might not need to wear it once she grows up.

Vidya said...

We were heart-broken too when we learnt that Vyas had to wear glasses. And that too when neither of his parents and both sets of grand-parents don't have it in the gene:( He is thrilled of course and thinks he looks like Harry Potter.. And yes, like Starry has mentioned here, awaiting a pic of the little girl!

DC said...

I always wanted to wear specs as a child but didn't have to. I thought it gave a studious and sophisticated look :-)

But I guess when we become mothers our thought process changes...

And yes, a photo pls.. if Anush permits!

B o o. said...

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Exactly my feelings when I realized that Ashu needs glasses. But dont worry, the feeling passes. I felt bad that Im sad for this when some parents go through far worse! But I hated all the attention and unsolicited advice when we visited India. "adhukulla kannaadiyaa?" and someone even suggested that I should nt make her wear glasses this early as if I ve a choice! And Ashu hated all the attention. But it helps that both the husband I wear glasses. She does nt feel uncomfy. I decided to quit lens and wear glasses all the time to show her my support but it was nt necessary. she accepted it very easily. and thats even more heart breaking!! sigh!

Just Like That said...

awwww.... so early..? :-( Never mind, Art. So long as she likes it, am sure things are fine. and yeah, I used to LOVE my specs too.

Artnavy said...

Good to know so many care!

Yes when I see kids who have it so much worse I really thank God!

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

oh no! i know what you mean. in my case, i have good eye genes which i was hoping would find themselves transferred. it was not to be. she has pretty high power (-1.75), which scares the crap out of me and makes me irrationally angry when i find her watching tv (aside from the fact that i hate tv itself). as a nearly-year-old veteran at this though, i must tell you thats its been all fine, no probs with it. Only thing to keep in mind is to pack the spare pair on trips - they will get lost and broken and all nature of things when you least expect it...:( :(