An Introduction of Sorts

Well, since you all know me already, I guess a self introduction isn’t really necessary.  For those who don’t know, though, my husband Robert and I are expecting our first child, a girl, in July of this year.  We are extremely excited about this, though the classic first time parent fears bubble just below the surface.  Will we be good parents?  Will we screw our daughter up beyond repair?  What if she hates us?  However, these are not the things that worry us the most.  Our biggest struggle will undoubtedly be our blindness.  Not that this will inhibit our ability to care for our daughter, and any future children we may have.  The struggle I speak of is the societal one.  The general public are severely under-educated when it comes to disabilities, and blindness is at the top of that list.  People fear blindness above terminal illnesses.  They can’t imagine getting out of bed and successfully dressing themselves without sight, let alone raise a child.  We will undoubtedly be faced with challenges ranging from the question of how do we change a diaper? To a social worker showing up at our door responding to a concerned citizen who saw us out walking with our daughter either in her stroller or in a carrier of some sort, assuming that because we’re blind, we should not be out and about independently, especially with a child in tow.

So, I created this blog to discuss the challenges that present themselves to us on a daily basis, both in the privacy of our home and out in the public eye.  Raising a child is never easy, but tack a disability on top of the every day chaos of child rearing, and you’ve got yourself a full plate.  It’s unlikely that I’ll update here much in the coming four months or so, until Miss Haylie Elizabeth makes her arrival.  I may make posts regarding prenatal appointments and such, but those are pretty routine and don’t deal much with blindness as an obstacle.  The goal of this blog is to educate everyone, sighted or blind, about how blind people raise children.  Everyone makes mistakes, and I’m sure we’ll make our fair share of them ourselves. 

In closing, I’d like to make the statement that there are no stupid questions.  If you wonder how we do something as blind people, ask.  It’s much better to ask and be educated than to keep your questions locked up and assume, possibly incorrectly.  I promise I won’t get offended.

And now, it’s time for this Mama to be to get her tooshie in bed.  Good night.