Genetics

"They read in the dark and they read a lot," I insisted.

"Oh, that's just a myth. It's actually genetics," she explained.

I couldn't completely accept it. It must be the intense reading. This early?! S is already wearing glasses, but N and H too? At this age?

Yesterday we went for N and H's eye appointment. While the doc's assistant was checking H's eyes, she turned and asked me,

"Does he sit very close to the TV?"

I almost burst out laughing.

"No, they don't watch TV. They read in the dark," I replied, somewhat sardonically.

I didn't think more about it until we got home. It began to strike me that people might not understand my kids.

"When's your birthday?"

"Happy Birthday!"

"You know Goofy and Daffy Duck?"

What the typical American would take as 'normal', we don't take as necessarily normal. My kids don't watch TV and that is an atypical behavior in itself. My kids are somewhat familiar with Disney characters from their old TV-watching days, but maybe not as familiar as most American-raised kids are. Some people would say the kids are at a disadvantage, but everyone has a right to differ.

I just realized that when I tell people that my kids "don't watchTV", they might not take it literally. To most Muslims, that is not even fully comprehensible. Not watch TV? How can that be?

I thought to myself, get rid of one problem, create another. My kids don't watch TV but they end up reading a lot and I really mean a lot. I just found out that they leave their bedroom door ajar so the light from the hall slightly gives them some light to read by. Even my father asked me if the kids sit too close to the TV when I told him they're all going to wear glasses now.

So is it genetics? Will people, especially family and friends now blame us, the parents for taking TV away from them and plunging them into intense reading such that they have to bear the burden of wearing glasses so soon? If they do, then it is true that no matter what you do, tongues will always wag.

N and H picked their frames yesterday and we are supposed to pick them up in three weeks. We're planning to go to the Texas Dawah Convention. Hopefully the glasses will be ready by then, on time. I worry more for myself than the kids for the very long trip to Houston. I already feel the baby move, but whenever I don't it always plunges me into worry. I'm more convinced now that it was my fault that Julaybib passed away in the womb, considering what I did when I was pregnant with him. I think I ignored my own body and waved off pains as nothing.

I haven't let the kids feel the baby move yet so far. It will get their hopes up too much, though H's eyes are already lit up with excitement when I exclaimed that I felt the baby move. I guess, the baby will grow up with glasses-wearing faces, insyaallah. Sheesh, I'm turning my kids into geeks. Now I'll have to prepare myself to ward off all those unpleasant comments we will surely get from people, as if wearing glasses is the worst thing that can happen to you. I'm worried about how N will handle it more than S and H. Another test in the making.