1. You hear yourself telling your 5-year-old to “Hop up!” when she is lagging behind.
2. While doing sighted guide with your spouse you find yourself patting him on the arm at every corner, saying “Good boy!”
3. You open your wallet and, instead of cash, find kibble.
4. When you pick up your cane you instinctively give it a “forward” command.
5. You tell your friends you are going to “do your business” as you head to the lavatory.
BAM! I enjoyed talking to local radio host Clint Strand about Blindness Awareness Month on KOHO Radio today. I was quite nervous about sharing my story with my local community.
After it aired, I received the best text from my friend Rebecca. “You sound great and assertive and approachable and kinda sexy.” The sexy part was likely due to a scratchy throat, but it made me laugh and I appreciated the encouragement!
If you missed the interview on the radio today, here it is! LISTEN TO JENELLE’S INTERVIEW
In honor of White Cane Day I revised “White Cane in Hand,” written here as a poem. It’s actually in the beginning stages of being made into a children’s book with illustrations and all! For my original parody with photographs, please see White Cane in Hand. Continue reading “Happy White Cane Day!”
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)”
I just finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird. Of course this was not my first time reading this modern classic, and it likely won’t be the last time I find myself engrossed in Harper Lee’s masterpiece. The story has not changed in the 18 years since I last read it. Yet, it somehow feels new to me. While Scout, Jim, and Dill feel like long-lost friends, they also seem different from how I remember them. While I recall feeling infuriated by the prejudice and injustices in the story, my understanding and analysis of these events has more depth than it did as a teenager. My own life experiences over the last two decades influence how I interpret this powerful novel. (Side note – feeling so damn old as I write this) Continue reading “Story”
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”.
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?”
Some time has passed since Joy and I shared our embarrassing moments in which we’ve learned to laugh at ourselves.
But something happened recently that really forced me to laugh at myself, after I was done cringing. Continue reading “The Goat Birds”
Continue reading “From On Top of the World to Reality: Transition Home”
“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)”
