Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Eyeglasses Race

Usually Ricki’s problem in the morning is agreeing to wear her hearing aid. She needs it, but not enough to be dependant on it. And if things get noisy at school (as they often do), rather than covering her ears, she just pulls the aid out!
So I have embarked lately on a campaign to get her to wear her aid more, using various bribes STRIKE prizes as incentive. Ricki understands the logistics of prizes very well, and the method is effective, as long as the prize is something she wants. This last Friday morning she even came to me with the aid, asking for me to help her put it in place.
So imagine my consternation as I see Ricki exiting the door without her eyeglasses! I called, her, but she continued down the stairs. I quickly searched for the glasses, and found them by the bathroom sink. They were filthy. Now Ricki knows how to clean her glasses, and often does so, but I guess this morning she was in a rush, and /or couldn’t be bothered.
So I cleaned them up, and went downstairs to give her the spectacles. SURPRISE! She didn’t want them. I quickly realized that she assumed that they were still dirty. Just then, her driver arrived, and she popped into the car, ready to make a James Bond getaway. So I held the door open, and growled “You are GOING to WEAR your GLASSES!” She did, I closed the door, and the car drove away.
Was I worried that she would toss them? Not really. She needs her glasses more than she needs her hearing aid, and in the split-second that she put them on, she realized that they were CLEAN.

P.S. But somehow, Friday afternoon, her glasses got misplaced. She may not actively wanted to toss them, but she certainly was not being careful about them.

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