Healthy, Happy, and Seeing Clearly

This past summer was full of adventure for our family. We kick-started the school-free and schedule-lax months of June and July with a magical trip to Disney World, followed by jaunts to the Pacific Northwest, then New York City, Lake Tahoe and down to Los Angeles a couple of times. Our lives are changing as the kids get older and as our family grows; the things we are able to do, the amount of time and experiences available to us and our sense of adventure as a whole has evolved immensely.

Jack, Zoe and Beau have been in and out of sports camps and a little bit of tutoring for the past couple of months to help prepare them for their upcoming school years. As a parent, I try to maintain a healthy, happy balance of structure and even boredom with a little bit of responsibility in there when they aren’t in class and the long, hot days and sweet friends are beckoning for someone to play. If I think about it, that’s my parenting philosophy as a whole that I try to keep as natural as possible. I keep a close eye on each of them to make sure they’re good and well without being overly pushy. This summer however, I had the opportunity to have our eyes checked professionally, and I realized that – aside from the basic tests the kids have at their checkups – Jack, Zoe and Beau haven’t had their vision checked, and it’s been 5 or 6 years since I’d been examined too. LensCrafters’ new Clarifye exam not only checks overall vision, but it also can read for potential health related problems such as diabetes. Truthfully, I’ve been putting off my own vision checkup because I am overly sensitive to the dilation process. The Clarifye exam is completely safe and non-invasive, and I was definitely interested in learning more about my health and vision especially before going into the next school year.

We’ve been pretty lucky, Justin and I, when it comes to vision and overall health. His vision is great, and I learned that I had 20/15 vision with the exception of needing reading glasses so as to not strain myself during lengthy days reading and writing on a computer. Jack and Beau both have excellent vision as well, though we were surprised to learn that Zoe has a stigmatism that makes it more challenging for her to see things and read at a distance. The testing itself didn’t take very long, and some of the images and facts we learned were fascinating – what healthy eyes look like and ultimately how the world looks to Zoe especially when she isn’t straining herself to focus. She was delighted to accessorize herself with a new pair of adorable Ray-Ban glasses (and OK, so was I), both of us easily sitting through the short AccuFit technology process to make sure our new glasses fit us comfortably. I am so glad we did the Clarifye exam at LensCrafters, as I’m certain we wouldn’t have known about her eyesight issue if we hadn’t taken her in this summer. It was easy, informational and I feel so much more prepared going into the new school year knowing she can comfortably see the white board in her classroom and focus on her teacher too. While I was initially deterred by the uncomfortable vision testing process based on previous experiences, I’m feeling really positive about having taken them in and knowing for sure how well we all see. I’ll be certain to follow up with annual Clarifye appointments in the future.

I also wanted to share that LensCrafters recently participated in the development of EyeOnKidsHealth.com, a destination to help parents and kids learn more about vision, care, and overall health. There are short, interactive games featuring Penny the Pirate that helps to educate kids in a fun way regarding the importance of eye health. Beau and Zoe loved it!

While I was deterred by the uncomfortable vision testing process that included the eye-dilation, I’m feeling really positive about having taken them in and knowing for sure how well we all see. Of course, I feel even more confident about Zoe’s educational experience now that she has a new glasses to help her see in class, and I’ll be certain to follow up with annual Clarify appointments at Lens Crafters. As much as I’ll miss the long, lazy days of summer, I think we’re all ready and excited to buckle down and dive into the new year, healthy happy and refreshed.

As much as I’ll miss the long, lazy days of summer, I think we’re all ready and excited to buckle down and dive into the new year, healthy happy and refreshed.