We thought Schuyler lost her new glasses last week. We talked to her teachers and to the people who run her after school program, and we tore her school apart for two days looking for them. We managed to narrow down the time when they were lost, between her last class and the beginning of her after school program. The woman who runs the program insisted that Schuyler didn't have them on when she arrived, and despite the fact that there are probably a hundred kids in that program arriving at roughly the same time, we believed her.
I'm ashamed to say that it was only two days after they went missing that I took Schuyler for a walk around the school, asking her what she did with them. She'd originally told Julie that she took her glasses off in the gym, and when I asked, Schuyler's story didn't change. This time, rather than getting any input from anyone else, I just let Schuyler show me what she did.
Quietly but with an air of certainty and even relief that she was finally being taken seriously, Schuyler again said she took them off in the gym and then showed me where she took them, to where her backpack was left every day with the rest of the kids'. She showed me how she took her glasses off and placed them in the hard, clam-shell case and slipped them into the mesh side pocket of her backpack, snug bug visible. And when she returned for them, they were gone.
I feel bad for not listening to her more closely; in my defense, it was the first time I'd been there with her, and Julie got distracted early on by the insistent protestations by the program head that Schuyler absolutely did not have her glasses on when she arrived. I feel bad about it, because based on what Schuyler says and on the unlikelihood of that big purple case just vanishing into thin air during a walk down one hallway between classes, I now don't think Schuyler's glasses were lost.
Yeah, I think they were probably stolen.
The older I get, the more I realize that while I once thought I liked kids, it is becoming increasingly clear that really, I probably only like my own.
Wow, she looks so grown up in that picture.
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher and glasses are always hard to deal with. Sorry about the loss (however it happened) of her glasses.
I LOVE those glasses. Who's the designer? I'm a fan of Lulu Guinness frames myself...
ReplyDeleteSchuyler is the coolest and most stylish kid in the world. That is all.
ReplyDeleteSometimes kids can be as mean (or mean-spirited) as adults.
ReplyDeleteWow, she looks even more like her mom as she grows older.
ReplyDeleteThat's crappy, someone stealing her glasses. Sometimes people suck.
(And, great-looking new specs.)
I'm so glad you let her show you what happened. It's been 30 years and I am STILL pissed that my mom didn't believe that some kid took my lunchbox...
ReplyDeleteWho steals prescription glasses? I guess with kids, maybe it was just for the fun of it, but still, what's the end goal? They can't wear them. That's a pretty low thing to do.
ReplyDeleteEven though my son does not speak I have learned to believe him. The older he gets the more he gets "blamed" for things happening because he cannot come out and say I didn't do it. He knows where he leaves things and he knows when they are not where he left them. Good for you for listening to Schuyler and not the teacher who obviously had no clue.
ReplyDeleteKids can be really mean, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were stolen. It may just be someone who was jealous of them, because she does look so gosh darn cute and smart in them.
ReplyDeleteActually, I bet they were simply after the case. And maybe I missed something, but it sounds to me like the program director was right -- Schuyler didn't have her glasses on because they were stolen before she went to the after-school program... yes?
ReplyDeleteNo, she took them off after she got there. That's where I believe they were stolen.
ReplyDeleteAh. I guess I misunderstood. I was thinking being in the gym was part of her school-day, as opposed to part of the after-school program.
ReplyDeleteKids can be so mean. Totally off subject, she looks like a miniature Julie in the photo!
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, kids are mean..mean..mean. Being a parent it rips your heart out when kids are mean to yours. Stupid kids!
ReplyDeleteShe's adorable. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's my sole goal in child rearing to raise kids that actually put thought to the feelings of others before indulging themselves. Then perhaps we'll have at least two less kids who'd do something stupid like take someone's glasses.
Gar.
I still remember a doll I lost in grade school - probably first or second grade. The doll was wearing a lovely novelty 'I (heart symbol) Sarah' tshirt. It showed up in the lost and found one day, and I was too shy to speak up to my teacher when we filed past it. When I went back the next day, it was gone.
ReplyDeleteI really wonder what stupid kid wanted my doll with the 'I Heart Sarah' shirt. But kids are weird. I wouldn't assume someone was being mean by stealing her glasses. Who knows what kids are thinking half the time.
And, as kids go... yeah, feel lucky, you got a pretty cool one.
Wow it's like you shrunk Julie!! LOL She looks SO much like her mom!
ReplyDeleteRob,
ReplyDeleteAfter I spent a fortune on glasses a coworker introduced me to this site:
http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php
They're great for really inexpensive glasses- you can seriously buy a pair for $8. There's shipping and handling to tack on, but it's a great deal, particularly for a kid who's going to outgrow them, drop them, or have them stolen occasionaly.
My 11 year old daughter has been wearing glasses since she was 18 months old. Her glasses have been stepped on, sat on, grabbed by wild kids, flushed, kicked off her face during ballet, lost in the snow and not found until spring thaw and after a replacement pair had been bought, and lastly, dropped down the drain in the street.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, we have never had her glasses stolen. That might put me over the edge.
It gets better the longer the kid wears the glasses. We rarely have to buy a new pair before her prescription changes now.
"The older I get, the more I realize that while I once thought I liked kids, it is becoming increasingly clear that really, I probably only like my own."
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great quote Rob. As a parent I often find myself thinking the same thing. However, as an educator I realize that almost all kids have a likeable aspect at some point.
Unfortunately, this only gets worse until sometime in the ninth or tenth grade.
i have to agree 100% with your last paragraph. i keep trying to convince myself i'm wrong, and that ppl and their children are good, and that i really DO like them...basically, it keeps coming back to the fact that: people suck.
ReplyDeletesorry poor schuyler's glasses have gone missing. they looked really sharp! and i really like the purple! :)
Man, that sucks. My mother always said that the only kids she ever liked were her own. Also that the older we got the better she liked us, but she's not much of a kid person. I think she's added my kids to the list of those she likes though.
ReplyDeleteMan, that sucks. My mother always said that the only kids she ever liked were her own. Also that the older we got the better she liked us, but she's not much of a kid person. I think she's added my kids to the list of those she likes though.
ReplyDeleteGak! Double-post! Feel free to delete one. Oh, and this too, of course, since this one won't make sense when the second is deleted. I hate it when I accidentally hit "publish" twice.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being honest re liking children. That's how I feel about humanity most days - the herd in general, no thank you; the few I know and like, OK. Kids that I like, even fewer (heck, I didn't like kids when I WAS one - too much juvenile chaos and meanness.).
ReplyDeleteAs a slobbering minion with glasses, are you familiar with zennioptical.com? $8 glasses makes them a lot easier to part with.
ReplyDeleteAfter my optometrist wanted $500 for a new pair, I decided I could probably do better. Now I tell everybody. The lenses are those uh... plastic stuff, so you get little rainbow effects on the edges at night if you're wearing large frames.