Yesterday I called Bob and said I was really craving a Dr.
Pepper and wondered if he would go to 7-11 with me. He suggested I head out on
my own and meet him there. It has been a few weeks since I walked around the
Avenues on my own. I put on my snow boots and started my trek. It was the first
time this year that I’d been out walking somewhere with all the snow. It’s
always so thrilling to be independent as a blind person. I love going places on
my own. No one could ever understand that feeling until it is taken away from
you. The simple act of running an errand alone means so much. It is hard to get
up the courage to explore the world blind. It is definitely uncomfortable and I
always feel somewhat uneasy but after I get going it is the best feeling in the
world. I will have even more confidence when I am paired with my guide dog in
March. For now, I am stuck using my cane. The past few months Bob has set out
routes for me to travel with my cane to get practice and more confidence. He
follows a few feet behind me as we walk and afterwards we talk about any issues
that arose. It has been a lot of fun to do these excursions. I’m so glad that
Bob is patient and knows how to help me learn. He is the only person who makes
me feel like I am not blind. I guess all his years working in the blind
community and getting his Masters degree in this field has greatly influenced
my journey. Sometimes I feel like no one in my world really knows what my life
is like. Everyone has problems but sometimes I look at things other people are
going through and they can find a lot of others who have similar issues who can
empathize with them. For example if someone loses their job or loses a loved
one they can get on their social media site and get a lot of people sharing similar
experiences. On Facebook I read about all these moms who talk about how hard it
is to be a parent and all their one hundred mom friends can offer understanding
to them. I don’t feel like I can share how frustrating
it is to go through my day blind because everyone on Facebook would be
horrified to contemplate such a thing and they would be uncomfortable hearing
my complaints and feelings. I have to just keep it to myself to spare others.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Joy to the Podcast
Christmas will be here soon. We survived a trip to Costco
last night and escaped that busy place with $25 worth of chips and dip to take
to our Family Christmas Eve party. I think my parents will like the Wild Salmon
dip we discovered. Bob cooked dinner at my place and we put on our favorite
Christmas music. Later, we settled in on the couch and listened to a recent
episode of This American Life with Ira Glass. Bob has had to put up with my
recent addiction to podcasts. I mostly listen to them alone while he is busy
with his rental properties but it still affects him because I am constantly
talking about the coolest, funniest, unusual, thing I learned from something on
a podcast. If you know me it isn’t a surprise that I would enjoy podcasts more
than TV. I lost my sight about 3 years ago. Ever since then I have devoured
audiobooks, and starting this year, podcasts have consumed me. Besides
listening to Ira Glass, some of my favorite podcast are:
Savage Lovecast
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Serial
Death Sex and Money.
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