先日学校から「視力検査の結果、眼科で正式な視力検査を受けてください」という通知をもらって帰ってきた娘。主人も私も近視はなかったし、親戚にもめがねをかけている人もあまりいない。娘も学校で黒板が見にくいとかいう類のことは言ったことがなかったし、「よく見えないことある？」と聞いても「見える」という返事。なんかの間違いと決め込んで、でも一応受診だけはしてみた。そしたらびっくり！近視プラス乱視！0.5と0.35と言われ、視力検査では1.5という数字以外には経験したことのない私としては、えらくショックでうろたえたら、先生が「そんなにひどくないから、心配しないで」となぐさめてくれた。しかしながら乱視はパパ譲り。月が6個ぐらい見えるんだって。Our daughter came home with a note from school, saying that she might need a thorough eye examination, since they found some trouble at the school vision test. Neither my husband nor I had a vision problem until this age, and not many among our extended family have vision problems. She never told us about a trouble reading/seeing and when I asked her if she ever experienced a problem, she simply said no. So I quickly decided it was some kind of a mix up, but I made an appointment with an eye doctor just in case. Today we went. Well, well, the doctor found that she has myopia and astigmatism! Being a person who got 20/20 all through the school years, I was in a state of shock. The doctor consoled me saying it is just a mild case, so I don't have to be that concerned. She must have inherited astigmatism from her dad, though. He always says he sees six moons.
ということで、遠いものを見るときだけめがねをはめたほうがいいといわれ、めがねを作ることに。娘は予期せぬ展開を案外喜んでいて、ピンクのちょうちょのついたフレームを選んだ。目の保険があったので、全部しめて３５ドルですんだ。しかしながら、娘がよく見えないことがあるなどとは一度も訴えたことがなかったし、聞いても見えるというので、まさか近視と乱視があるとは夢にも思わなかったと先生に言ったら、生まれたときはぼんやりしか見えずだんだん視力も成長するのだけど、一度もはっきりと見えたことがないわけだから、「見えるか」と聞かれても「見える」というのだよとのこと。人間、見えると思っていても実は見えていないことってあるんだろうなあ。本当に見えるということはどういうことなのか知らないだけなんだよ。娘のめがね事件を通して、人間まずは謙虚でないといけないんだといやにシンミョウになった私でした。So, the doctor recommended she wears glasses when she needs to see far things. My daughter took it pretty well and excitedly picked a pair of pink frames with butterfly imprints. The vision insurance covered everything except the copy of $35. Not bad. When I told the doctor that I never even dreamed about her vision problems, since she never mentioned it and said she saw okay when asked. The doctor said, "When they are born, they have very weak sights. Vision grows as they grow, but they NEVER have been able to see WELL, so they say they see, when asked if they see okay." That hit me. We tend to believe that we see things, but we actually don't or only see a part of it at best. It's only that we do not know what it really means to be able to SEE. Through her vision problem, I felt like having learned a life's lesson; You never exalt yourself!
