Vision Correction

E came home from school recently saying she needed glasses as she was having a hard time seeing. I set up her first optometrist appointment and it was confirmed, she does need glasses, and will need some corrective lenses for life. Sorry about those genetics kiddo, it was bound to happen.

She was so excited to go pick out glasses! We discussed how to care for them, how to store them during nap and sleep, how to be careful with them on leading up to the big day. E excitingly shared her big news with her teachers, the carhop at sonic, and anyone she came across. She was getting glasses! 

I knew this would be a super exciting appointment for her, a little chaotic for me, and a lot of tidying and cleaning for the customer service agent helping us find the perfect pair. We only had to try on ALL of them. 

What I didn't expect, how this would be a lesson for me.  

Once the pair was picked out, we grabbed a quick dinner while the super awesome vision center matched those perfect frames with her prescription in record breaking time. I received a text before we had our drinks served, the glasses were ready! 

We returned to the vision center, I plopped her on the counter and she places the glasses on. Adorable! She looks into the mirror and smiles with the biggest smile. She was so proud and excited to wear glasses.

To see her view herself and have no doubts or concerns about her reflection was awesome!  

I can't remember the last time I had looked into the mirror and my eyes didn't immediately shift to my "problem" areas. Ugh, the scar from the mole I had removed, the zit that left a pock mark, the freckle on my bottom lip, all of this immediately captures my attention when I see my reflection. Passing by any mirror I am glancing to find out what I need to fix. A little water to my frizzy hair, readjust my clothes, add a little powder on my nose, take care of that stray eyebrow hair that needs tweezed, whatever I could find to make me look better.

Seeing E smile so purely looking at herself made me realize what the vast difference on how I view myself.  My vision needs more correcting than hers! I can't imagine the hurt I would feel if E thought some of the things about herself as I do about myself.

I am her first example. I have got to quit overly scrutinizing every little imperfection. I am not sure how to accomplish this, and if I can ever unlearn this behavior, but I am going to try. 

So this is where I start. I am going to hush my inner critic, work on replacing my negative thoughts with positive, and actively combat my perfectionist tendencies. By focusing on my strengths and emphasizing those I can hopefully be the example of the woman I hope E becomes, a confident, self loving woman who is capable of seeing her worth before her flaws.