Teachers don't give passes to boys who don't wear their glasses

A young man of my acquaintance was found earlier this year to have poor eyesight. It was the old story--he was a lackluster student, but (part of) his problem was undiagnosed vision problems. So, he got glasses. And he promptly decided that he didn't want to wear them. Maybe he thought he looked uncool. (Actually, he looked very good in them.)

So, his grades continue to be in the basement, and he has to go to summer school for yet another year. His custodial parents have grounded him from everything they can think of to punish him for not wearing his glasses. The Block From Which He Was Chipped wants just to give him an old-fashioned whupping. Nothing seems to help him want to wear his glasses and/or try harder in school.

He wants to be in the FBI someday. We have gone to the FBI website with him and discussed the prerequisites for employment there. Barely graduating from high school is not one of them. He may say to us, "I don't care. I'll just join the military." Well, if he does that, he'll get an eye exam. They'll definitely make him wear glasses, and they'll make him wear those clunky, black-framed ones. Talk about looking geeky!

You parents out there, including those of you who once were 14-year-old boys--any ideas about how we can help this kid 1) wear his glasses and 2) work to his potential? Silly Witch, I know that you've recently read a book about helping your kids reach their potential. And what does the Love and Logic program say about it? I hate seeing this sweet kid flounder and have such a tense relationship with his parents and siblings because of his stubborness.

Girls in Shape

I posted a short DIY playground boot camp workout on Girls In Shape. Check it out!

Friday the 13th

This morning, I slept in until 7:30. It was great after waking up at 4:30 every other morning this week (except for Wednesday when I woke up at 6:00) to go to boot camp before going to the SIR conference.

As I was getting ready, I noticed that I'm missing some eyelashes on the right. It's like they broke off or something. For someone with short eyelashes to begin with, that is not good.

Next, I went to the doctor for the first pelvic exam I've had in, oh, six years. You know that I was looking forward to that. The worst part, really, was weighing in. I weigh what?!? Ugh.

Just as I was about to lie down for the exam, my beeper went off. Now, before I left work last Friday, I checked to be absolutely sure that I was off on Friday. I spent the entire week revelling in the fact that I had Friday off with nothing to do after my doctor's appointment but hang out with Rowdy.

But no. I saw what I wanted to see on the vacation schedule and not reality. I was indeed scheduled to work. Fortunately, I was on rotations that were flexible, but still...arrrgghh!

At first, I was furious with everyone but myself. Then I was just mad at myself for being an idiot. Finally, I was grateful that Rowdy and I weren't able to book a cruise for this weekend or anything else that would've taken me away from town. It all worked out fine, but...ugh.

The week at the Society of Interventional Radiology Scientific Meeting was great. My favorite part was meeting up with so many people I haven't seen for ages and ages. The workshops and seminars had good takehome points that I'm looking forward to using in my practice. Oh, and I am now on a Women in IR committee. Yay!