CamO is a bit of a worrier. He also doesn’t like change. This combination makes for tough days when we have to conquer something different or new.

To set the stage, there were a couple things going on.

First, for the last 3-4 months, Cam has been squinting one eye to be able to see better, especially at night and especially at things that are close up–when we’re reading books before bed, when he’s coloring, when you hold something up to show him. Here’s a photo of him just trying to focus on the camera (I only noticed this later):

At our 4-year checkup at his regular doctor’s office they tested his eyes for distance (which he did fine) and said they weren’t able to assess his close-up vision. So, we made an appointment at a pediatric eye doctor nearby.

Meanwhile, at his pre-school, his teachers were ready to move him up a level. He would be going from “red line” to “blue line” which is basically moving from the second oldest group of kids to the oldest at that preschool. The blue-liners are the ones getting ready for kindergarten. The idea of this had Camden in tears, both at school and at home whenever we talked about it. As a red-liner, he had the company of his friend Benson and he also had recently become close with a girl named Kaya (a different Kaya, not neighbor Kaya) and he really didn’t want to leave them or his known routine.

Here’s a photo from his birthday celebration at school, surrounded by his red-liners:

As fate would have it, D-day for both of these activities fell on the same day. The night before I told him stories of times I had to be brave as a kid hoping that would help him. I reminded him that at the eye doctor it would be mostly games–no shots, nothing that would hurt, and that daddy wouldn’t leave his side. He still cried.

So, at work last Tuesday I was having a hard time focusing thinking about my little guy.

As reported by Daddy-O, Cam did great. He became a blue-liner with ease. There was really nothing to report on the school front because he simply did as he was told. Neighbor Kaya was already a blue-liner so he had a built-in friend.

The eye appointment took a whopping two hours and required a ton of patience. They also had to put eyedrops in his eyes at some point and surprisingly that wasn’t a big deal. Cam forged through and at the end of it picked out some new glasses. He is farsighted right now, meaning he can see far things clearly, but he can’t see close-up. The glasses should help him in the short-term, but they’re hoping that since his eyes are still developing that if he strengthens his eye muscles (by not squinting and actually using the “bad eye”) his vision will improve.

I hope that as Cam gets over these speed bumps he will recognize his own bravery and that he will be less worried and fearful of other challenges.

Of course Joe and I were very proud of him and very relieved. And, Cam is going to be the cutest glasses-wearing blue-liner in all of La Mesa!