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.

 

December 19 - Music and Memory

I like to sing - not for performance but just for enjoyment. Unfortunately the only songs I can sing are those where the words are in my memory. If I can’t remember the words of a song, I can’t see to look up a printed version.

Some of my favourite songs are from the 50’s and 60’s. Many songs from that era have a catchy beat and repetitive lyrics. It’s the repetition that keeps the words in my memory.

Then there is Christmas! On December 1, Lyle turns our car radio to a station that plays Christmas and winter time music exclusively. For one month of the year I can listen and sing along to almost everything that is played. This is also a great time for me in church. When we sing the carols, the words of which I have been hearing since childhood, I am able to join in the congregational singing of the familiar hymns.

I think that there is a strong connection between our brains and music. I have heard that when people lose the plot with other areas of their lives, they are often able to remember words to familiar songs. Even when my mother was unable to remember spoken words to identify everyday objects around her, she could still sing the words to many a familiar tune, even dating back to her high school days.

Music and memory aren’t only connected to words. When I spoke with George, a talented musician on our recent cruise, he said that his hands seemed to have a memory of their own in finding the notes on the keyboard. There was a connection between his brain or memory and his hands. Of course, George was pretty talented to start with! If you like you can check him out on Face book – George and Lina Music.

Lyle and I would like to wish you all the blessings of this Christmas and holiday time.  I hope that you will enjoy some of the music of the season and maybe even sing along!

There is one picture with this post. Lyle and I are standing by the ship’s railing on our recent cruise. While the picture provides a good memory for us, it’s also an inspiration to start planning our next getaway.

 

Sue and Lyle on ship deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 11 - Turn on the Lights

I don’t see in the dark. Nor do I see well in glaring sunlight. Shadows and moving light can also be a problem.  It’s strange how the absence or presence of light can so hugely affect my vision.

I know that light can be a factor for many people with limited or no sight. When Gerry lost his sight and could no longer tell the difference between light and dark, he had problems with sorting out night and day. I gathered that this phenomenon isn’t unusual for people who transitioned from partial sight to none at all. Conversely, Harold who was completely blind, had a minor surgery which restored his ability to distinguish between light and dark. Even this small distinction in an otherwise gray world made a big difference for him.

For most of us there is little we can do to adjust the light around us. In our house, I am constantly turning on lights – even during the day. Because I don’t see in the dark, I use a night light at night. This is a bit of a compromise between Lyle and myself. Lyle claims that he has thin eyelids and sleeps better in a completely dark space. We have made the adjustment at home but when we stay overnight somewhere else, we spend quite a bit of time adjusting blinds and perhaps bathroom lights and doors to suit us both before we actually are able to sleep.

Outside during the day, I will wear shaded glasses to cut the glare of the sunlight. We should likely all be wearing glasses that cut the ultra violet rays of the sun. However, I find this difficult when going in and out of bright sunlight to shaded areas.  My pupils don’t dilate and contract quickly enough to adjust to the changing light. This is when using my mobility cane is most helpful. It detects the ground in front of me even when I am unable to see it myself.

Then there are those places where I have no control of the lighting. Dimly lit restaurants rank near the top of my list. Candlelight dinners are out for me! There are other public places where lights are dimmed to suit a mood or occasion and those of us with poor night vision need to adjust and compromise. Sometimes I feel like asking out loud, “Could we please just turn on the lights!”

December 4 - Travelling

If you have been following this blog at all, you will know that Lyle and I both like to travel.  We enjoy seeing new places, doing new things and meeting new people.  Of course, we also realize that it would be a very different travel experience if we weren’t able to do this together.

Our latest trans Pacific cruise was a new experience for us.  If we ever had the time, money and opportunity, it is something we would enjoy doing again.  When our ship docked in Sydney we spent some time visiting family (always a priority) and a couple of days in Terrigal, our favourite beach town.  Then it was off to Queensland.  We flew into Coolangatta, located on Australia’s famous Gold Coast just south of Surfers Paradise.  

This was a trip into the past for us.  We had been here thirty plus years ago.  We were now amazed at the development in the area - new condo buildings, traffic, and lots of people.  We spent some time trying to find familiar places from the past.  We also visited an old school friend of mine, and then we just veged out on the beach.  We stayed at Tugun, which has a long, long beach, great for walking.

All told it was a great holiday, but we came to the conclusion that we liked Terrigal better.  There is a picture with this post.  I am sitting by the beach promenade, drinking take away coffee from my favourite Terrigal coffee shop - Free State Cafe.  The sun was shining that day and the sea gulls were swooping.  It felt a long way from the snow and cold back in Alberta.

 

Sue sitting at the beach with a coffee

 

November 27 - Who Are You?

I’m pretty good at remembering names, but I’m hopeless at matching names to faces.  The reason for this is simple.  I just can’t see the faces.  If only people would identify themselves before starting a conversation!  That way I would be saved the embarrassment of needing to ask - Who are you?

It’s not all doom and gloom.  Sometimes I can identify people because of a unique characteristic.  For instance, in winter Nettie wears a tall, fuzzy black hat and I can spot her before she speaks.  Norma has a shock of white hair, and Ulla has a strong Dutch accent. I can recognize her voice before she says her name.

Things are always easier when I meet people where I expect to see them.  I know and recognize by friends on the walking trail.  I know and recognize my friends when we meet for Monday morning coffee.  It is when I meet people not in their usual context that it is more difficult.

Last week, Lyle and I were walking from the car park into the shopping centre.  We met a woman coming towards us with her loaded shopping cart.  She greeted us enthusiastically but I had no idea who she was.  She must have seen my blank expression, because right away she said, “It’s Elsa from the church.”

Both of these clues were helpful.  I know three Elsas but only one from the church.  Indeed, if we had been meeting at the church I think I would have recognized my friend.  In the shopping mall I needed the additional identity check.

So, the moral of this little story is - if you know someone who has limited or no sight, please identify yourself at the beginning of a conversation.  Even if you are a friend it is helpful to do this.  It saves the person with low or no vision having to ask the question - Who are you?

November 15 - An Ocean Cruise

Back in October, Lyle and I set out on an ocean cruise.  We sailed from Seattle, Washington, to Sydney, Australia.  This wasn’t our first cruise experience, but at 23 days it certainly was our longest.

When we expressed to friends our intention to book this trans-Pacific crossing, we were frequently asked two questions:

 

    1)  Did we think that 23 days with about half of them at sea, be too long? 

 

    2) Did I think that a long ocean voyage would be a worthwhile experience for someone who is blind     or partially sighted? 

 

My answer to both questions is the same. It all depends on your expectations.

For us, this particular cruise was all that we anticipated and hoped for. We were both tired after my two recent surgeries.  Life on board the ship meant that I hadn’t needed to cook a meal, wash a dish, make a bed, or do any housework.  It was a great way to rest and recuperate.

The evening entertainment was great.  We heard three different comedians, a variety of singers with different styles, a saxophonist, and an absolutely fantastic classical pianist.  It was also a good mix of daytime activities and programs - dance lessons, wine tasting, lessons on origami folding and other arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, trivia competitions, and the list goes on.  There seemed to be something for everyone whether they were sighted or not.  There were also two swimming pools, a fitness center, an outdoor walking track, and a pickle ball court. We didn’t participate in everything, but chose the ones most interesting to us. 

Then of course, there were the ports of call.  The prettiest of these had to be Easu, part of the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia.  At Easu, the ship anchored in the bay and passengers were tendered in lifeboats across to the pier on the shore.  There are two pictures with this post.  The first was taken from our balcony looking across to the dock, a small beach to the left.  The second was taken from the shore looking back to our Holland America ship.

 

 

Looking from the balcony at a small boat and beach

At the harbour looking at the ship