DoubleVision Blog

3 Attributes You Will Quickly Develop as a Blind Mom

A friend recently gave me an article on 4 blind moms featured in “Real Simple” magazine. I was immediately struck by the beauty and strength of each woman, and I was a bit jealous of them for having such close blind friends. One of the women, Joy (great name!), talked about how they are each in awe of one another’s feats. “It’s like each of us has mastered a skill or has a bravery that the others don’t.” They all have guide dogs and are starting a national group called “Mommies With Guides”.

One of the things they discussed in the article was what they do differently as parents without sight. This got me thinking about my own parenting, and while I do have some vision, there are definitely some skills I have had to develop as a mom with low vision in order to be a good mom. Some of these are still works in progress, but they’re definitely the “muscles” that get the most use, and therefore the most strength.

Continue reading “3 Attributes You Will Quickly Develop as a Blind Mom” →

More New Beginnings

My sister and I started Doublevisionblog to reach out to people facing blindness from RP, and to educate their family and friends. In the process, we ended up educating and connecting with our own family and friends in ways we had not imagined or originally intended

Connection with others, especially when facing major life challenges like blindness, is like salve for the human spirit. It soothes and uplifts and even heals.

The readers that we have connected with are now part of our story and will forever be threaded into the pain and hope of our plot lines. Continue reading “More New Beginnings” →

Take Inspiration: Blind Architect on TED Talks

As we head in to the New Year, I would like to dell out some encouragement to help our readers welcome a strong and hopeful 2014.

Blind Architect, Chris Cowney, gave this incredible TED talk on designing cities with the blind in mind, and how this not only benefits the blind but also offers major advantages for the cities themselves.

Chris Downey: Design with the blind in mind
What would a city designed for the blind be like? Chris Downey is an architect who went suddenly blind in 2008; he contrasts life in his beloved San Francisco before and after -- and shows how the thoughtful designs that enhance his life now might actually make everyone's life better, sighted or not.

My favorite take-aways from this talk are:

Continue reading “Take Inspiration: Blind Architect on TED Talks” →

15 Tips for Assisting People With Low Vision

In honor of blindness awareness month this October, I decided to finish this post! I drafted it this summer and then abandoned it because I found it difficult to write. For me, it’s like trying to describe my favorite type of movie– I can’t put the exact description into words but I know it when I see it. And if I think about it enough, I can find words, but it does take some thought. I don’t like to be cynical, but it would have been easier to come up with a list of 15 ways NOT to help people with RP! I decided to take the more positive approach, although I couldn’t resist throwing in some of my personal pet peeves. Continue reading →

Fringe Benefits of Blindness

According to many surveys, going blind is something people fear most, right behind cancer. I’ve written plenty of posts related to fear and grief and challenges. But I’ve seldom touched on all the fringe benefits of blindness.

Some readers may think I’m joking, but honestly there are parts of my life that have turned out to be pretty great because of low vision. So I put together these top 10 reasons blind people lead the best lives: Continue reading →

Lessons in Decompression

I have never been good at letting go. Tense conversations, goodbyes, friendship changes, job transitions, moves….all keep me awake at night far longer than it seems they should.

So it wasn’t entirely surprising when my plane touched down in Seattle 2 weeks ago, and I couldn’t immediately let go of real life to enter vacation mode.

I’ve been in this quaint, picturesque Bavarian-themed village in the Cascade Mountains since the beginning of July, and I’m only just starting to decompress. Prior to leaving for this trip, there were a lot of stresses at home and I pictured this serene, oasis trip in which I just played and played with my children without worrying about my typical daily to-do lists. I had this vision of myself, unplugged and ultra-present. Continue reading →

Liebster Award

If there’s one thing writers really need, it’s community with other artists. I have this amazing friend, Emily, who shares my love of writing. We belong to the same writer’s group and have fun drinking tea and/or wine over topics involving creativity, editing, publishing, and the like. She writes a hilarious blog and recently nominated me for a Liebster award. Thanks Emily, for your encouragement and for being someone with whom I can share writing joys and frustrations and engage in super-nerdy conversations.

As part of my acceptance of the Liebster, I had to answer the following 11 questions from Emily: Continue reading “Liebster Award” →

Saying Goodbye to My Grandma Jean the Queen

The call came at 3am Wednesday. Grandma is dying. She probably won’t make it through the night. If you want to say your final goodbye, you should come.

The lights at grandma’s house were dim when we arrived, and the air was heavy. Short, labored breaths rattled out of her lungs, sounding like a child with croup. She lay tucked under blankets in a hospital bed in the middle of her living room; my cousin leaning over her, inserting morphine tablets under her tongue to keep her comfortable.

Being on hospice for the past week, the call had not been entirely surprising, though she had been so alert and responsive the prior few days that we had thought it might be weeks until the end. But here we were, in the middle of the night, beginning our final farewells. Some family members sat perched on the queen-sized bed near her hospital bed, while others lingered on the couch in the adjoining family room, taking turns leaning over her and whispering words of love and gratitude. Continue reading “Saying Goodbye to My Grandma Jean the Queen” →

Welcoming the Muse: Trying on the Life of an Artist

I’ve always been hesitant to call myself an artist, or even more specifically, a writer. Since I don’t earn a living writing and am not famous, two of our culture’s main measurements for success, I’ve never thought my art really matters.

But watching some artist interviews during “The New Artists” series at The Orchard the past few weeks has helped me realize that my art does matter. It not only matters in my life, but it matters in the lives of others, no matter if it’s just a handful of readers or tens of thousands. Continue reading →

How We Approach People: A Follow-up Conversation

One of the things I love about writing is that it helps me organize and connect the many thoughts, facts, emotions and analysis scurrying around in my head. Basically, it helps me make sense of the world as I’m experiencing it.

Sometimes these connections happen while I’m working on an essay, but other times they solidify after I’ve already posted, often through follow-up conversations and comments people post.

There were definitely some reactions from friends and readers regardling my last post on my recent travels. Through these conversations, I came to some realizations. Continue reading →