Author: joy

How I Told My Workplace About My Low Vision (A Guest Post by Jen Walker)

If you read Jen’s guest post yesterday, “Should I Tell My Workplace I’m Losing My Eyesight?,”  then you are probably curious HOW she did it.  Here’s her story!  

Here is a play by play of how my ‘coming out’ went. At my current school, with my current boss, I started missing handshakes, people handing me things, I couldn’t keep up with looking at kid’s data in small print….and I couldn’t come up with any more excuses as to why my dad was driving me to work at age 30! Continue reading “How I Told My Workplace About My Low Vision (A Guest Post by Jen Walker)” →

Should I Tell My Workplace I’m Losing My Eyesight? (A Guest Post by Jen Walker)

I’m so excited to introduce you to our friend, Jen.  She has been reading our blog for awhile now, and we’ve been chatting about our lives as young moms with RP for a couple years.  We are also part of the same online community of visually impaired women on Facebook, called Room With a View, and Jen is always posting the most thought-provoking questions, like the one she shares here today. It’s one I wish I’d read back when I was teaching and constantly afraid I’d lose my job because of my vision.  I know Jen’s post will be an encouragement for many out there in the workplace!   Continue reading “Should I Tell My Workplace I’m Losing My Eyesight? (A Guest Post by Jen Walker)” →

DoubleVisionBlog Fight Song

View and share “DoubleVisionBlog Fight Song” Video on Facebook

Hi DoubleVisionBlog friends! I’ve been secretly working on this video for the past month as a surprise for Jenelle. Happy Blindness Awareness Month!

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In honor of Blindness Awareness month this October, Joy shares her journey of shame, vulnerability and courage. With both humor and insight, Joy and her twin sister, Jenelle, share their stories of life with RP at doublevisionblog.com. Continue reading “DoubleVisionBlog Fight Song” →

The Middle of Our Stories

Jenelle started me thinking about stories with her post last week. Awhile back I wrote a post that I was too embarrassed to publish, due to the vulnerability involved in sharing my lack of confidence at the time.  In light of the confidence I’ve gained in recent months, I’d like to share it here now, with some new insights.

I can see her.

Confident. Calm. Kind. Self-assured. Unassuming. Strong. Inviting. Gracious. Intelligent. Witty. Playful. Peaceful. Attractive. Insightful. Carefree.

She’s standing on the corner, cane in hand, waiting to cross, and she looks like she knows where she’s going. She’s approachable and aware. She accepts people the way she has accepted herself, fully. There is a lightness in her footsteps because she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She sees life as an adventure and not an emergency.

Continue reading “The Middle of Our Stories” →

What Does It Mean to Be Present?

My Aunt Debbie came over the other day and gave my girls the best present, a picture book entitled, What Does it Mean to Be Present?. It’s a beautiful book in a whimsical font on a topic that I haven’t seen many children’s books tackle. Lots of books on friendship and sharing and learning. But not many on “being”.

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My daughters love this book, although I’m the one who can’t stop flipping through it, hoping it will rub off on me. My mind being the hamster wheel that it is, I really struggle with being fully present. Continue reading “What Does It Mean to Be Present?” →

From On Top of the World to Reality: Transition Home

Roja's puppy raisers, Jack and Linda, have raised 38 puppies and gave me the gift of Roja.
Roja’s puppy raisers, Jack and Linda, co-raised Roja with the Swart family. Puppy raising is a selfless act, and I’m grateful to them for their care of Roja as a puppy.
Graduation from Guide Dogs for the Blind seems like eons ago, though the interactions with Roja’s amazing puppy raisers that day are still clearly etched in my mind. In fact, the entire day felt magical, from the after effects of the shock of my sisters surprising me  to eating mouth-watering Indian food with friends who drove 14 hours in one day to celebrate with me and Roja.

Roja relaxing on my lap while driving through Golden Gate Park Continue reading “From On Top of the World to Reality: Transition Home” →

I Believe I Can Fly (summary of First Week at GDB)

joyandroja“What are you looking for in a guide dog?”

“Um, Well, a smallish sized dog who is calm and has a drier mouth, maybe a yellow lab although color isn’t as important. Oh, and I want a dog who is super fast.”

I could tell Roja met my criteria from day 1, even though bonding has continued to be challenging. I’m now in my second week of training, and I still find myself feeling jealous of other students and their constantly playful, cuddling dogs. Yes, Roja, gives “hugs” with her whole body and loves playing “tug” and occasionally rests her soft head on my lap, but these signs of affection are definitely on her terms, intermittently, when she feels like it!  She still moves away when I reach to pet her head, and I’m still learning what makes her tick. Continue reading “I Believe I Can Fly (summary of First Week at GDB)” →

Meet Roja: Day 1 of Training at GDB

IMG_8346-2You know how some days can just fly by, to the point where you can’t even figure out what you did? And then there are those other days, those 24-hour periods that are so thick with events that it seems several months have passed overnight. I’ve experienced this during a weekend of silence at a Trappist monastery, and on several short-term mission trips over the years, and today, at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA, during my first day of training. Continue reading “Meet Roja: Day 1 of Training at GDB” →

White Cane in Hand (a parody of Green Eggs and Ham)

The following is a parody of my favorite Dr. Seuss book, describing my hesitancy to use my cane, before trying it but then my relieved delight when I realize it’s actually pretty helpful to have around!

I do not like white cane in hand.  I do not like it, Joy I am!

Would you use it at a park?

Could you use it in the dark?

I could not, would not at a park.

I could not, would not, in the dark. I do not like white cane in hand. I do not like it, Joy I am!

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Continue reading “White Cane in Hand (a parody of Green Eggs and Ham)” →