The other day I was out with a friend. We had been chatting about this and that. When we came to the parking lot - and yes, I was using my white cane, I had trouble picking out my friend’s car. Deb needed to point the vehicle out to me but as we got in, she said, “Sue, unless you remind me, I have trouble remembering that you can’t see.”
What a nice compliment! I know that for people who don’t know me, I have the appearance of someone who is blind or visually impaired. Once that assessment is made, those people treat me with my blindness as the most important aspect, so I was pleased when Deb saw past my vision loss to the part of me that was just a friend. My cane, and I think I might have also been wearing my low vision ID badge, melted into the background and our friendship and our conversation took over in the forefront.
I am pleased when the people who know me don’t see my vision loss as the most important part of me. This frequently happens with the people who know me best. Even though I might look blind or partially sighted, I like to feel that I am a whole person and my sight – or lack of it – is just one part of the whole.
No comments:
Post a Comment