Individual leaves on trees--I knew they were there, of course, I'd seen leaves up close, held detatched ones in my hands. But I had no idea you could (or should) actually see individual ones on a tree across the street.

Oh, this was my exact revelation! I remember staring at trees all amazed and going oh that's what it's supposed to look like! I was five.

I totally agree with you, Bev. I just don't want him to correlate things with affection. He gets lots and lots and lots of affection, but I can see how he is starting to get the "gotta have it" bug.

I think quite a bit of it is societal, and he does a great job of using his imagination when playing -- he spent a whole bunch of...ooops, they're back! Gotta go get the glasses lowdown!

Finish thought later.

Seriously? I only just heard that he got married. (Orlando Bloom, that is.)

I think that just happened a few weeks ago. Hussy.

I don't remember the first time I wore glasses, but I do still have my first pair (tiny little granny glasses from 1971). I probably should see what the prescription was in them and see how bad my eyes actually were!

I'm just amazed that I was able to teach myself how to read before I got my glasses. Thank goodness for big print in children's picture books.

I got my glasses sophmore year of college. And that's when I realized that Impressionism was more than just a popular art style of the day, but rather how I was living my life.

I got my glasses around 4th or 5th grade. I'd needed them long before that, but due to my hearing problems the teachers had always seated me in the front of the classroom. So the usual cues—not being able to read the board, etc.—weren't there. I suspect this played into a fair bit of my social problems in elementary school. If you can't see the other students and half the time you can't hear them it's kind of hard to interact with them. Especially if you don't know there's a problem.

Yikes! Power out at our house.

I got my first glasses in 7th grade and totally had that OH that's how the world really looks! moment.

I just don't want him to correlate things with affection. He gets lots and lots and lots of affection, but I can see how he is starting to get the "gotta have it" bug.

Yes, this is exactly why I mentioned it. StY and I have done a lot of work with A, getting him to think about why he's so needy about getting new stuff, especially since he doesn't care about it once he has it. He still wants All The Things, but he's getting better at taking a minute and stepping back, thinking through his OMGWANT impulse. If he can make a coherent argument why the new thing is a good thing for him to have, and if he's willing to clean up his pit of a room and clear out three broken and useless items, plus one useable item to donate, he gets the new thing, if it's appropriate.

So he not only earns it, but thinks his way through the process. I know, we're awful tyrants, but the truth is, his mom and her side of the family just pile crap on him to get him to play quietly in his room and get that kickback "You give me stuff, I love you!" from him.

Can't wait to hear about M's new glasses!

And that's when I realized that Impressionism was more than just a popular art style of the day, but rather how I was living my life.

Isn't there a theory that Monet wasn't so much getting more Impressionist in his later years so much as losing his eyesight?