Day 10 of BLINDNESS - back into the light

Days 1 - 9 here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101676997

Well I finished my time in the sleep shades today. Three street crossing in the city (Richmond VA). That was pretty much it.
My 10:00 class was out of the shades and my 11:00 meeting was cancelled.

What an incredible experience. The word "empathy" is used a lot but I think that sounds like you feel sorry for someone. I don't feel sorry for blind people, I do have initial understanding of their situation and a great amount of appreciation for them. Those are the words I would use. I hope that my posts have conveyed a little part of their world. They are more independent than most people I know mostly because they refuse the alternative.

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but I have one coworker whose wife is also blind - they have a 10 month old son. There is a couple that I work with (both blind) - they have a son less than 1 year old and a 2 1/2 year old son. If your jaw just gapped open rest assured so did mine. The first thing (as a parent) that came to mind was "HOW do you do that?", the short answer is focus (I don't mean that ironically), organization, and they have lived most of their lives blind so this is just another part of their life....just like any parent's. Oh and they all have Master's Degrees.

The world is an amazing place to see even when you can't see it.