Are We Destined To Be A Four-Eyed Family?

Last week I took Rylie for her 4 year well check. It was a very comprehensive exam. First we got the usual height and weight check, in which Rylie was right in the middle of the chart for both. The doctor checked her out from head to toe, evaluated her letter recognition by asking her what different letters were, checked her motor skills by having her hop across the room on one foot and checked her fine motor skills by having her wiggle her pinky fingers. They also evaluated her hearing and vision. She has had plenty of hearing tests, so I knew she would do well on that, but this was her first vision test. We covered her eyes one at a time while she told the nurse which shapes were on the chart. The result was 20/30 vision, which the doctor said was normal for a 4 year old.

You may not already know this since I don't normally leave my glasses on for pictures, but my vision is not perfect and I have to wear glasses for nearsightedness. Brian is also nearsighted and wears glasses. So right now, two of us are "four-eyed".

We both ended up getting glasses in early adulthood. Brian has to wear his all the time because he cannot see without them, but I generally don't have mine on at home. Brian wore contact lenses when I met him, and he eventually convinced me to try them out several years ago. Once I got used to them, I loved being free from my glasses! It was so nice being able to lay down and watch TV without having plastic frames digging into my face! I was even considering purchasing colored prescription contacts to change up my eye color occasionally.

Several months after I got my contacts, my eyes started itching horribly when I wore them. I would take them out for a few days hoping that I was just suffering from some environmental allergies, and when the itching stopped I would put them back in. Within minutes, my eyes would start itching again. I went back to the eye doctor, and found out that I was having an allergic reaction to the contacts themselves. We tried several different brands of contacts and solutions, and unfortunately, nothing worked for me and I was back to being "four eyes" again.

Brian continued to wear his contacts for years and I was jealous. He could buy fun sunglasses to wear, while I had to either put clips on my regular glasses, or switch to prescription sunglasses any time we went outside. And of course he could lay down comfortably on his side and watch TV, which was something I couldn't do with glasses. At one point he was diagnosed with astigmatism and thought he would have to go back to glasses too, but then found out that astigmatism contact lenses are available. He ended up not needing those, though, because guess what? He started having the same problem I had with the contacts bugging his eyes. He still wears contacts off and on, but these days, he is usually "four-eyes" right along with me.

So now I wonder if we are destined to be a "four-eyed" family. Will my kids eventually need glasses? I honestly think that little kids with glasses are absolutely adorable, but I know that teenagers generally don't like to wear glasses. I hope that if my kids do end up needed glasses that contacts will be an option for them. Yes, Rylie's vision is "normal" now, but obviously that can change as she ages. If they do end up needed glasses, though, one thing is for sure - they will still be cute...