Yet another example occurred this past week of my son getting older, and this one hurt in a big way. He went to his first "real" eye doctor appointment, and the experience was more eventful than a day at Kennywood.

With the lights going on and off faster than Paris Hilton moves in and out of jail, and a chair that went up, down and backward like a chaise lounge, my son found a new career choice.

It was a chance to show off his still untested skills, such as reading letters that got progressively smaller, or his mastery of colors.

"V…E…X…A" he said proudly so that all could hear.

"Green and red," he announced when asked what colors split a letter in half. Well, we know he's not red/green colorblind and he has at least four letters of the alphabet covered.

But the fun didn't stop there. Rather, it was simply beginning.

"Look into these cool glasses," said our very, very patient doctor.

Alex did as he was told and began to peer through the glasses that looked similar to those binoculars that sit around high, scenic places like Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building and Mount Washington.

Then he did what comes naturally to us guys — he attempted to "focus" them by turning knobs and squinting.

"I can see you, Dr. Phil," he announced. By the way, our doctor's name is Bill, but that didn't matter to old eagle eye Alex.

The next move was right out of "Testosterone 101," as he swiveled his head with the binoculars the way a submarine periscope operator would while looking for German U-boats along the horizon.

"I can see you too, daddy," he said.

"Hello Alex. Please stop that and let Dr. Phil, I mean Bill, take over."

Our patient doctor remained so, calmly placing Alex's little hands on top of the binoculars. "Keep those right there buddy and you'll be done soon," he said. This was the voice of a man that had been there countless times before. He smiled assuredly at me and continued.

Within five minutes, he had established that my son's eyesight was healthy and there was no need for anything at this point, although given his genetic makeup, he'd probably be ready for glasses during middle school.

My exam was uneventful, although my chair went up and down just like I was driving on a Pa. highway littered with potholes and construction zones. I am certain that those "little hands" were doing their best to push up, down, sideways and backwards while I recited alphabet letters and colors.

Not surprisingly, my exam ended with a drop of Novocain for a simple Glaucoma test. While the medicine ended the pain in my eyes, I wondered if it could help end the pain of the first trip to the eye doctor with my 5-year-old?

The next trip for hearing tests comes in a few weeks. I think that will be mom's trip.