July 18 - Dinner Guests

Summer is a great time to get together with friends and family. Lyle and I both enjoy these summer get togethers. We especially enjoy sharing meal times. However, sometimes either as a dinner guest or a dinner host, my sight presents challenges.

I was reminded of this last week when Brian and Marilyn came to our home for supper. We had planned an easy meal where most of the food preparation could be done in advance and I knew that Lyle would take care of the actual serving of the dishes. It was only at the end of the meal that Marilyn expressed her regret that she was unable to help in clearing the table. Marilyn has pretty severe arthritis in her one hand and she was worried that if she tried to carry the dishes she might just drop them.

I knew exactly how Marilyn was feeling. When Lyle and I are dinner guests in someone’s home, I feel a little useless when I am unable to help either set or clear the table. My eyes simply don’t see where dishes and glasses are placed, and rather than run the risk of breaking a host’s precious china, I choose to sit still and stay out of the way. This is contrary to the way I was brought up. It seems especially noticeable when there are other women guests and they are all able to congregate in the kitchen to help out.

However, on the other side of the coin, I was able to assure Marilyn that as a guest at my dinner table I was very happy for her to sit and not assist. It is a problem for me when other people move things around in my kitchen. In the past, I have broken more than one drinking glass when someone else has placed it in the sink and I have crashed down a dinner plate or saucepan right on top of it. I have also cut my hand/finger on a knife when unknown to me someone else had placed that knife in the sink.

Most of us know that we shouldn’t move furniture and large objects around in the home of someone who is blind or visually challenged, but I suggest that it is just as important not to move around smaller objects. I like enjoying dinner with friends and family but sometimes it is easy for both guests and hosts to forget about the small frustrations of someone who has sight or other physical challenges.