Open Drawers

I may have mentioned this before but it’s something that’s been on my mind so much it’s turning more into paranoia than I’d like lately.   I am scared of leaving any drawer open.    Typical behavior would be, for example, to open the drawer with the brush and bows for my daughter who’s standing by, fix her hair and then put the things back into the open draw, closing it as I’m done.    Maybe it’s the drawer with the utensils and I’m pulling things out to set the table, coming back multiple times to get different items.   Or, I’m putting up laundry and I have several drawers open while I put up the items.    I didn’t realize until lately how often I left drawers open for short periods for different reasons until recently.

My low-sighted daughter knows our house very well.   If you came into our home you’d have no idea she has very poor sight because she runs around and navigates perfectly—that is until something is out of place like an open drawer.

If the drawer is lower than her head she will most likely see it and stop short just in time (unless she’s in a hurry).   If the drawer is chin height or higher, she is most likely not going to see it at all because she looks down, watching where she’s walking.   She will run straight into it, hitting her forehead or worse, her eyes at what might even be the sharp corner of the open drawer.

It takes only a few of these accidents to make you fear for your child’s safety so much that you shut drawers just after opening them—even if the children are in school.

Next month I’m hoping we’re going to see some improvement in her vision with a refraction to determine her prescription in the right eye, a corrective lens to match the refraction results and some patching of the left eye to help the brain begin to utilize the right eye.   That, and of course we hope the now flat retina actually is functioning—that remains to be seen.

For now, I will continue to be militant about keeping drawers closed at all times.

The Big Boy Update:  I was watching a nature show about animals.  My son came in and watched it with me.   He loved the island and the creatures on it.   He told me he wants to visit Zanzibar some day.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter wants to go next door to play with Madison nearly every day.   She has made a very good friend and I always enjoy watching them play together.   Today she was sad when she knocked on their door and they weren’t home.   Fortunately, Madison was available later and they got a chance to spend some time together.