Contacts

Four years ago I took Payton to the eye doctor, and she started wearing glasses. She has been wearing them her entire time in school. That all changed this week. The eye doctor mentioned contacts last year, but we did not think she was ready for them. This year we decided to let her try them. 

She was super excited about it, and we had to keep explaining to her that contacts take time to get used to, particularly putting them in and taking them out. But she was not going to be deterred, and when we got to the appointment to try them out, she was bouncing with excitement. The girl that helped her put them in was patient and very kind with her. We were there for almost two hours, the girl put them in first, then Payton had to take them out, then put them in herself. 

We woke up the next morning early, and it took her 56 minutes to put them in. She can get them out pretty fast, but she struggles getting them in. But the next day, she did it in 27 minutes. Her biggest thing is that starts off going slow, then as the contact gets close, she tries to jab her finger very quickly, which causes her eye to close. Once she started slowing down, and just going very slow, it seems to work better for her.

I cannot make fun of her, it took me awhile to get to a point where I could put them in quickly. My parents had to buy me a big mirror, I would sit at the table, the mirror had a light, and it would take me 30-60 minutes each morning. That probably lasted for a good month or so. But now? I barely look in the mirror. It is so automatic that I actually had a difficult time explaining to Payton how I put them in or take them out. I tried to show her, but I think I made it look too easy. 

I think she is going to master this very quickly. My guess is in a week or two, she will look like a pro.