by Suzanne Bertrand

Created on: March 06, 2010   Last Updated: September 11, 2010

Watch me play my soccer game.

While my friends call out my name.

I’ll dribble the ball with glee.

Then sing my melody

While trying to focus his eyes on the soccer field, Darby dribbled the soccer ball. He sang to himself while he kept his feet moving. Today he couldn't see the letters on the eye chart at school. Now the soccer field was a blur. His head began to spin and he dropped to the sidelines in a heap. He rested on a bench after his game. His best friend scurried over and patted Darby’s shoulder. “I may need glasses.” Darby said.  When Darby pictured wearing glasses, his face turned red and sweaty. The next day, Darby stared out the window on the ride to the doctor's office. He thought of a song.

 Somehow I must cope.

But glasses are a joke.

Can’t I stay the same?

And play my soccer game?

He stepped into the exam room, waiting for the doctor with the funny name. He had Ophthalmologist spelled on his lab coat. “Yes, you need glasses. As you pick a pair of frames, find a good fit for your personality,” The doctor said. The following morning, he told his classmates that he needed glasses. No one said anything. Darby imagined that he melded into the desk. When he rushed home after school he looked to his sister for help. “You know you will look silly with glasses,” his sister said.

His mom pulled his covers up to his chin and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “You'll always look like Darby to me,” she said. “When you put on a pair of glasses it's similar to wearing a shirt,” his dad said while saying goodnight.

The doctor’s office called saying the glasses were ready. That night he came home with his new glasses and he placed them on his dog. Darby took the glasses off as his dog shook his head and barked. “You are the same Sparky!” When he saw his sister watching a movie he asked, “Do you think you would see the movie better with these?” His sister reached for the glasses and put them on. “You still look the same,” he said. The next day, he bounced into school wearing his green speckled spectacles. He smiled as he held his head high. He sang to himself.

I love my speckled spectacles.

I wear them all the time.

They’re green with sparkly dots on them.

They’re shiny and they’re mine!

Thanks to his speckled spectacles he could see clearly now. “Soccer is fun, but I would like to take singing lessons now,” Darby said.

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