Written by Rowonna McNeely – About a year and a half ago, we found out that Kiera needed glasses. She can see fairly well without them, but they help bring everything into focus. When we ordered her first pair of glasses, she was beyond excited.I can remember when they came in the mail. Being the Mom I am, I recorded her opening the package. She jumped up and down as she put them on. Of course, they were pink. Everything at that time had to be pink.
Pink is still one of her top favorite colors but we have expanded to other colors. Now, her favorite color depends on the day of the week.
Her first pair of glasses lasted several months. She had a couple of small scratches but other than that, she seemed to be adjusting well to wearing them. We thought everything was going smoothly, until the day I received a text from her Pre-K teacher. She mentioned that Kiera’s glasses were being left out on the playground from time to time and wondered if it would be ok for Kiera to leave her glasses in the classroom when they went out to play.
I didn’t see a problem with that and readily agreed. The next morning, as we dropped Kiera off, her teacher pulled me aside. “I just wanted to let you know the other reason I thought it would be good for Kiera’s glasses to stay inside while we went to play.” She smiled.
It was the smile that prepared me. It wasn’t one of the you-should-sit-down-for-this smiles, more of an oh-your-child-cracks-me-up kind of smiles. I briefly closed my eyes and readied myself for what she was going to tell me.
She then explained how Kiera and a couple of other girls were burying Kiera’s glasses in the gravel on the playground. Suddenly, the scratches on the lenses made perfect sense.
As soon, as we were able, I ordered a spare pair of glasses for her. Two months later, both pairs of glasses had scratches and we had to order a new pair. This newest pair had metal rims and little nose guards. They were trimmed in black and had a black diamond pattern on the clear temple arm pieces. They were adorable.
Out of the three pair that we had ordered so far, these were our favorite pair. Kiera loved the nose guards and the way they fit. We rocked along with this pair for about five months and then one day, they were gone. Literally, just vanished.
It was during the school week that they disappeared.. Sadly, between Kiera’s Pre-K teacher, Aaron and I, we can not remember if she wore them to school that day or not. We searched at home and we searched at school. I still have no idea where they went.
After a few days of searching and her having to wear her old, scratched up pair, we admitted defeat and ordered her two new pairs. That was September. We ordered a pinkish-purple pair and we re-ordered the favorite black diamond pair.
We settled on the name pinkish-purple because originally when we ordered them they were pink. When they came in, they had a hint of purple to them. It’s really great fun, when you are standing with your child and someone tells her how much they like her purple glasses only for your child to quickly inform them they are pink, not purple. That was when the glasses were renamed pinkish-purple.
On Sunday, a week before Thanksgiving, we lost the black diamond pair. Yes. Again. Thankfully, we had the pinkish-purple pair to fall back on.
We began the search for the favorite black pair. Aaron and Kiera tore apart her playroom in search of her glasses. Well, Aaron did most of the searching… Kiera helped in between taking care of her babies.
We looked under couches, beds, in closets, laundry baskets, vehicles… you name it, and we looked there. Finally, we decided to wait until the Thanksgiving holiday to do a more thorough search.
Two days after Thanksgiving, I walked out to the backyard and past the trampoline. Something shiny caught my attention. With dread in the pit of my stomach, I turned back to the trampoline. I stepped closer and saw a lens…just one lens. Glancing to the left of the lens, I noticed a temple arm… a clear temple arm with black diamonds, just lying on the trampoline. The favorite pair of glasses had been found.
As I gathered the pieces of Kiera’s glasses, I knew exactly what had happened. You see, we have a sweet 70-pound Boxer who loves to lie on things. I think it is has to be a Boxer trait. He doesn’t lie on the ground if there is a trampoline, doghouse, picnic table, etc. that he can lie on.
I can only imagine his delight as he hopped up on the trampoline to lie in the sun and discovered that Kiera had left him a new chew toy. In case you were ever wondering, scratch resistant coating on lenses does not protect them from gnawing Boxer teeth. Amazingly enough, the lenses were not shattered, but we do have great teeth impressions from a certain dog.
Today, I ordered another pair of black diamond glasses. When I placed the order, I specifically asked them to say a prayer for those glasses. This will be our third pair. Third times a charm, right?
