Thank You Dr. Lawlor

I didn't enjoy wearing glasses as a child, in fact I hated it... When you are young you want nothing more than to fit in and be 'regular.' Well, a 5 year old in glasses was rare during my childhood. My big glasses made me the target of names like "nerd" and "four eyes." The only thing I did really love about my glasses was the Doctor that was behind my prescription...

Every 6 months I was a princess. I wore a beautiful dress, tights and my favorite black patten leather dress shoes that clicked on the floor. On these days I was proud of my glasses.... I would enter the eye doctor office and wait for my Mom to give all my information. I would settle into a chair after picking the most appealing highlights magazine on the end table and wait for my name to be called. Before long the tall slender woman would appear and she would tell me it is my turn. This may not seem all that exciting as I write it but you have to understand that their was a lot of anticipation leading up to these appointments. I loved my eye Doctor and so did my Mom I think. I can only assume this since she trusted this man to perform eye surgery on her baby 3 times, the first when I was only 14 months old.

I would enter the exam room and climb into the giant exam chair. I would look through the giant machine and read the letters on the wall in front of me... and THEN in would come Dr. Lawlor. His greeting was always the same. The door would swing open and he would be dressed in a nicely pressed sports coat and collared shirt with a tie and he would say "well hell-o A-dri-enne," He would then go on to compliment my dress that I would have spent a long time picking out. My dress would always be red because Dr Lawlor told me one time that red was his favorite color. He would examine me, shine a light in each of my eyes have me read some charts and would then write in my giant folder my most recent exam results. I would feel the visit coming to an end and I would be sad.... This man was 53 years my senior but I would guess he might have been my first crush. He made me feel special, like my glasses were a gift. Like my lazy eye was a beautiful asset. In Dr. Lawlor's office I was as pretty as the girls at school that all the boys liked.

I found out today that Dr. Lawor has passed away. I never thought news like this would make me so sad but it has. I feel like a piece of me, a piece of my childhood has simply faded and disappeared. I would love to return for a moment to that big exam room and climb up into that big chair and tell Dr. Lawlor thank you..... thank you...