Miles had a half day at school today, and in the interest of helping Jaclyn out I scheduled an early afternoon eye exam for myself, giving me a reason to leave work a bit early and keep our kid occupied. Excited as ever to have a “Daddy/Miles Day,” Miles had a ton of stuff he wanted to do this afternoon.
“I have to go to the eye doctor,” I said upon arriving home. “Do you want to go with me?”
“No,” he said flatly.
Well it took a little coaxing, but eventually Miles agreed to come with me, under the rigid conditions that 1) he didn’t have to get an eye exam and 2) he could still try to read the letters on the eye chart.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that I began regretting my decision. An eye doctor’s office is roughly 75% buttons and dials. What was I thinking? I quickly offered up my phone so Miles could watch some PAW Patrol on Paramount+.
Ultimately, though, nothing can truly stand in the way of a child’s curiosity when piqued. Once he found the button on that raised the chair I was sitting in, Miles evidently became determined to send me straight through the ceiling. The doctor was incredibly patient with him, despite warning him (or maybe me) that the equipment was expensive. One of the eye techs also let him be the one to photograph the inside of my eyeballs, a task that Miles relished and frankly performed pretty well.
By the end of the appointment, I knew we had to get moving before Miles cost me more than a copay and contact lens order, but it was still a fun, and unusual, excursion together.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 