By+Jennifer+Oliver++冥云

Cody started life weighing 24 ounces. Due to extreme prematurity, our son had eye surgery to prevent blindness. As a result of the surgery, he lost peripheral vision in his right eye. And his near-sightedness would mean glasses and close monitoring by an ophthalmologist for the rest of his life. Such a small price to pay, in our opinion, compared to the alternative.

Cody wore glasses with great pride, making it abundantly clear to his little brothers that Mommy and Daddy also wore glasses, and wasnt it a shame that they didnt have any themselves. This usually prompted a round of begging from his siblings that it was only fair they get glasses too.

Then kindergarten happened. One day, a couple of kids at recess derailed Codys bright outlook on having glasses in his possession. One boy said, “Your glasses look stupid, Cody.” Another kid yanked them off his face and bent them.

Cody was a timid, small child. Seeing tears well up in his eyes, as he recounted the event, wrung our hearts dry. Just recently though, something changed his outlook again.

My husband, Stephen, had placed two red heart stickers on my glasses in the early morning. And plastered all over the antique mirrors above our bathroom basins were the same stickers.

While dressing Cody for school, he whispered, “Mom, you got hearts on your glasses.”

“Yep, I sure do.”

“Youre funny, Mom,” he said, his eyes sparkling.

We both climbed into the cab of the pickup truck, where other hearts ambushed us. Stuck to the steering wheel was a heart. Another one was on the rearview mirror, on my truck key, on the stick shift, and on my wallet. I peeled the hearts from my glasses and handed them to Cody. He stuck them carefully on his own glasses and smiled the whole way to school. I parked in front of his school. “Get your book bag, sweetie,” I said. “Mom, can I wear my hearts to class?” I debated it for a moment. Pulling a “stunt” like this could go either way. But the pleading in his eyes sealed it for me. How could I deny him what may turn out to be a fun opportunity?

“I dont see why not, big boy.” I placed two hearts on my own glasses, and together we entered his school, hand in hand, parting the crowd in the hallway on our way to his classroom.

“Ha! Look at Cody Oliver! Hes got hearts on his glasses!” one observer called out. “Oh, look at Cody! How cute!” shouted another, pointing and giggling.

Cody smiled shyly, gripping my hand for dear life. When we arrived at the doorway, classmates gathered around my little guy, while I saw him trying to shake off the biggest grin Id ever seen on his face.

“Thats neat! Hearts on your glasses!”

“Cody, can I try them on?”

I knew then without a doubt that Codys outlook was back on track. Just by having hearts in his eyes.endprint