January 27 - Left Right

Last week was the first class back at yoga after the holiday break. For me it was an even longer break since my knee surgery last July. Everyone was still chatting as I sat down to take out my indoor shoes. I was struggling to discern which was left and which was right when the woman in the next chair leaned over and said, ”You do realize that you have shoes from two different pairs, don’t you?”

Of course I didn’t realize that at all! When my friend came over to assist me, it turned out that I definitely had shoes from two different pairs. At least I had grabbed the left foot from one and a right foot from the other. Even if the styles didn’t quite match and the colours didn’t either, I did have the semblance of a pair.

While I am usually fairly careful about choosing matching outfits, I do tend to buy shoes in similar styles. So, over the holidays when I reorganized my closet I must have put  the two pairs of shoes back in their wrong spots.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time I have made this fashion error. I remember once when Lyle and I were shopping. We had stopped at a number of small stores where I was trying on clothes. It wasn’t until we were home again that Lyle told me I was wearing unmatched shoes. He said that he didn’t tell me while we were out as he didn’t want me to be embarrassed. Of course I was embarrassed just thinking about it!

Possibly nowadays, wearing unmatched outfits is a fashion statement in itself, but I am still of the old school and like to feel coordinated. Nevertheless, wearing two right shoes or two left shoes at the same time could be a mite uncomfortable.

 

January 18 - Change

I really don’t like change! I know that I am set in my ways, but one of the ways that a visually impaired person learns to cope is through repetition. Keeping things the same just makes life easier.

The other day at the swimming pool I was waxing eloquently about this topic. I was in the change room when a woman I knew slightly began telling me how brave I was to be at the swimming pool by myself. I explained that there wasn’t any problem because at the pool, everything always stayed the same. The lockers were the same, the showers were the same and the entry to the pool didn’t change. I think that I sounded quite confident as I left her to continue with her swimsuit and I headed to the water.

I made my way to the steps at the shallow end of the pool ...but what was this? There weren’t any steps!

Just then the lifeguard came rushing up to me. “Oh!” she said. ”I should have warned you. We moved the steps today. They are at the other end of the pool.”

My confidence went down a notch or two as I made my way back to where I had obviously passed the new location for the steps. The steps are movable and probably the only thing in the whole aquaplex that isn’t a fixture. I began to giggle. I had been so pleased with myself as I explained to the woman in the change room just how well I could manage. Then for the first time in possibly years, the steps had been changed.

As I did my laps, I thought of how much I depend on things staying the same. Repetition and familiarity  help me to cope in so many ways. It is change that throws me for a loop.

January 9 - Reading With Dots

January is the month when many people celebrate the birthday of Louis Braille. This clever young man was the inventor of the tactile system of raised dots that enables people to read even though they might be unable to see print on a page.

In some ways I regret that I didn’t learn Braille when my sight first changed. My sight loss was sudden and at the time I was quite emotional and very busy learning other ways to cope with my life. For instance, how was I to continue working? How was I going to be able to get around without being able to drive? How was I going to be able to do my banking, to do the grocery shopping, to recognize people I knew on the street? It was a lot of initial learning to cope and I let the lessons in Braille slide by.

There are really only a few times when I have regretted not learning this tactile language. I was always sad when I couldn’t read the bedtime story to our young children. The up side of this was that they learned early to develop their own reading skills and would read to me.

Another case when I regretted not being able to read Braille was when I was presenting to groups. Fortunately I do have a reasonably good memory and was usually able to remember most of the points I wanted to convey. However, I do recall one occasion I was in the audience when a young blind girl was giving a talk. Her fingers flew over the Braille notes in front of her and she was able to look out to the audience instead of having her head down in the printed text.

I feel fortunate to have been born into the age of advanced technology. I use an audible program on my computer. I listen to recreational books on an audible device. I press a button on my watch to hear the time. I have a personal GPS or Trekker that tells me my location when I walk outside. Life is very different for me than it was for Louis Braille.

Still, along with others I celebrate Braille and his invention of the six little tactile dots. They too have been incorporated into the world of technology with Braille computer keyboards, printers, watches, signs on elevators and hotel doors, safety cards on airplanes. Yes, there are still occasions when I feel that I have missed out, but I celebrate Braille’s invention and the ability of people who continue to make use of it today.