Soren says goodbye to glasses

Soren and his first binky replacement - his baseball hat. 

This story has a little bit of background: 

It started with a binky.

It was Soren's comfort in new or intimidating situations. When it "broke," he seemed content, but replaced it with his baseball hat.

He wore that hat everywhere, both outside and inside. He would pull it down over his head so no one could see his eyes and half his face. Like a shield, protecting him from the world. When he was happy, he'd forget about it and let it slip up. But as soon as his feelings were hurt or he noticed someone watching him, it was pulled right back down.

Then one day he discovered sunglasses. He ditched the hats and went for this new form of comfort - he could see everyone else, but no one could see him.

Last summer, we took him to a 3-D movie and convinced him that he would see better with those glasses, than with his sunglasses. It worked a little too well, because then he started wearing them everywhere.

At that point, I was so glad to see his face and eyes again, that I bought him real glasses (prescription free, of course).

They have been his constant companion ever since. He looked cute in them, but we missed seeing his whole face.  On the flip side, he has grown in confidence around new people and places. But still he wears the glasses.

Last Week:

Then a miracle happened this weekend. His glasses broke! One of the side earpieces just fell off. We couldn't find the screw anywhere. I was worried about his reaction, expecting crying and insistance on finding other glasses. Instead, he shrugged it off and asked me to buy him another pair. Then he ran back to play, wearing no glasses and a smile.

Here are Soren's broken glasses - they are missing a lens and side. 

I held back on ordering him a second pair. He kept asking me about it. Then he informed me he would not go to preschool without his glasses.

The next day was a preschool day, so he wore his broken glasses. And then the next miracle happened - one of the lenses popped out! At that point, I took them away and informed him that they were too broken to wear.

After talking to my parents, who reminded me of how they helped me get past my binky with the comfort of a brand new Minnie Mouse doll, I summoned all my courage and told him this morning that we would not be replacing his glasses.

Today:
Oh, the anger and temper tantrum was great. I left him alone for 10 minutes, fearing the worst for the rest of the day. Even the offer of picking a new toy - the big Lego set he'd been drooling over - had no effect on him (at first).

It only took 10 minutes. Then he ran up to me, all smiles, asking when we were going to go to the toy store.

Soren at ToysRUs with his new toy purchased to give up his beloved glasses.

On the drive and at the store, I emphasized how exciting it was to get a new toy in place of the glasses.

In the parking lot, we even found a pair of smashed glasses that had been driven over.

"Look Mom! Glasses!" he said, pulling on my hand.

"Oh," I said, "Those must have belonged to someone else who decided to give them up for a new toy."

"Oh, yeah," he replied, nodding his head in agreement. ;)

And so he looked over every toy in the store before deciding on a Lego Star Wars set. I haven't heard a peep about the glasses yet. I am so excited to see his whole smiling face again, un-obscured and un-hidden.

(However, we might be steering away from sun glasses this summer. I think we can safely use hats again, though).