I am completely blind, but was blessed with many years of some vision to store memories of colors and objects in my world.
When I take a walk with my husband, he will tell me about the deer in our backyard. I will walk to the place where the deer stood. I will feel the hoof prints, find the direction that the deer traveled and even how fast the deer was running by measuring the distance between hoof prints. From the information, I bring up a memory of a deer traveling even to the flag of the tail as it bounds away.
When my husband sees a flower or budding shrub, he describes as I feel the silky petals and layers in a tightly swirled bud. I remember the flower or bud and can make a good guess on the color.
Outdoors in the early spring at a sugar bush, I feel the fire as the maple sap bubbles in the open pans. I can almost taste the maple as the smell of hot sugar hangs in the air. Finally, lifting the syrup to drizzle it back into the pans and hearing that the sap is thickening, I see in my mind’s eye putting the hot syrup in a milk can to transport it home to can it.
I love to sit with my coffee in the morning to listen as the first birds start their song as the early morning warms my face.
Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes miss my vision. But I can use my other senses to enhance my enjoyment of my world.
About the Author
Carol Farnsworth is a blogger, wife, mother, teacher, artist and tandem biker. You can follow her adventures on her blog, Blind on the Lite Side.
