A Mother’s Gift

Happy Mother’s Day from Doublevision Blog! In honor of Mother’s Day, we are sharing words of wisdom from mothers we respect and admire.

“Mothers don’t need to “see” in order to love; we simply “feel” it.  The depths of emotion we have for our children takes root within each of our souls. Never let another person’s words cause you to doubt this unshakable bond. Always remember, loving your child requires no “special” accommodations.”
Holly Bonner
Staten Island, NY
www.blindmotherhood.com

 “I wish the whole world could see me as my kids do.  I know to them my vision does not describe who I am, it’s just a natural part of who I am.  When I’m feeling really down on myself as a mom, I remind myself that “Out of all the mom’s in the world, my kids would choose me!”
Sometimes when I feel like I’m just doing a “good enough job” and wish I was dong things “perfectly” I know that to my kids it feels like I’m doing “more than enough!” My kids appreciate all of the blessings of my low vision situation.  Their favorite is having a mom with a guide dog so that their dog can go anywhere with us!  They are proud of my situation, not ashamed!”
Melissa Taussig
Chicago, IL
 
“Don’t worry about not being able to do what other moms can do with their kids. It always bothered me when my kids were young that I couldn’t take them places, but then I realized back in the day when there were not any cars, moms did just fine. (Neither of my grandmothers drove). And, my kids loved being home.  Both of my kids have empathy for others and I think that is because they grew up with a mom who is both hearing and sight impaired. They get not everyone acts the same way.”
Lori Linna
Green Bay, WI

“I am so grateful for my beautiful children.  They helped me be brave and adventurous in facing my vision loss.  I remember our vacation to Jamaica.  We were going to zip-line through the jungles.  It sounded a little bit like a monkey going from tree to tree.  Yikes.  Natalie and Kendall were in high school and college.  The roles were reversed and they were encouraging me on, “You can do this mom.”  As we arrived for our introduction, with the group of others signed up for this adventure, the trainer began to share how we would need “eagle eye’s” as we spotted the platform to land.  I thought oh good maybe I’m going to get out of this adventure.  I heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar, it was Kendall, my son asking what other options there were for landing for his mom who could not see.  My first response was oh no! This was different, I didn’t need to find a way.  Then, I appreciated this moment and hearing my son know there was a way to make this adventure work..  All their growing up my kids had seen us ‘find a way’ to do things and now, he knew we just needed to find a way so mom could fly through the jungle.  As I added zip-lining to the adventures in life, I was grateful for another adventure with my children embracing life’s adventures.”
Becky Andrews
Bountiful, UT
(Becky is the author of the memoir Look Up, Move Forward available June 2016)

“As a single mom to 3 boys many times I felt inadequate in my decision making process. Doubting myself was constant but the most rewarding gift I received from my sons is a “thank you” for how I raised them. I had to do things that were extremely difficult (like putting my oldest in a residential drug rehabilitation program and then later making him sign up for the army). The day he graduated from basic training was one of the proudest moments in my life for him. Years later when he was able to buy his second car on his own, he told me that it was because of everything I did (good and bad) that enabled him to reach the success he achieved.

Doing the best you can with what you’ve got is the best you can do for your children. Parenting is on the job training–I used to remind myself that there are parents who do everything right and their child goes astray. Yet on the other hand there are parents who do everything wrong and their child is a model citizen. The point here is to focus on raising your children to the best of your ability and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t buy the latest this or that,  Give them you and you can’t go wrong.”
Stephanie McCoy
www.boldblindbeauty.com
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7 thoughts on “A Mother’s Gift

  1. Just want to remind you how much I enjoy ALL your blogs. Something special for all of us whether we have 20/20 vision or not. Thank you. ??

  2. Such beautiful insights. I feel so empowered as a mom after reading them….so grateful for the reminder that sight does not negatively affect motherhood. In fact, based on the above moms, it seems to enhance it!

    1. Thanks Mom! You inspire and encourage me all the time, so I’m glad that this post did that for you!

  3. I love the comment about parenting being “on the job training.”
    I totally agree we do our best, just like our parents did before us. I just wish my teenager understood that! But I know she will someday, probably when she has kids of her own. 😉

    1. Oh, she will TOTALLY understand once she has children of her own. I have to admit that I am not looking forward to those teenage years…I remember quite a bit of tension between my mom and I when I was a teen, and now we are the best of friends. I think it’s meant to be this way b/c then when they turn 18 you are READY for them to move out. haha

      Jenelle

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