Great things about being blind. Being with wonderful blind people.

We spent the evening last night with some blind people and some sighted people, and several guide dogs.  It was in honour of a friend's birthday.  Much of the time, we spent out in the yard.  Since I don't have a yard, it is always nice to do that.  The three guide dogs ran and played, drank water, chased toys, and then would hang out with us or around our feet.  It amazed me that Tulia often came and sat by me even though she was off leash and loose.  I'd put my hand out and there was her little black head.  She is such a fast runner.  she would often get the toy and then let other dogs steal it.  It was so amazing to be there with such wonderful people.  We come from diverse backgrounds and locations.  From Newfoundland, to the prairies, Ontario, someone even originally from France.  Someone else from another country too.  We have different careers, family situations.  We might not have met if we hadn't been blind.  We had a fabulous dinner, cake, and lots of chat and laughter.
If I hadn't been blind, I might not have met these great people and guide dogs.

From my sighted friends. Great things about having a friend who is blind.

As I mentioned previously on this blog, a friend who is sighted e-mailed me some great things about having friends who are blind. Other friends sent more. So here are a few.
Great things about having friends who are blind:
They are great at driving bumper cars
They come over and don't care how messy your house or car is
They don't say you've put on a few pounds
They don't critique what you are wearing
They can read to you in the dark while camping or when they are your babysitter
They give you great insights into things
As a writer, they give you practice in describing things
They get you in free to museums, movies, plays sometimes
They allow you to have a dog fix whenever you're with them but you can only pat the dog when given permission of course
You can tell them you look like a stunning model and they believe you.
They can help you out enormously when the power goes off.
They always have interesting adventures
They don't judge you by how you look
One friend said the best thing about having a blind friend is that that friend is you. Thanks for that.
Fun and interesting topic.
Keep any thoughts coming.
I'm starting to think through great things about having friends who are sighted.
It is a freezing cold day here. Thinking about all of my friends keeps me warmer.

Great things about being blind. All of my friends

The other day, I wrote a blog post about the fact that one of my sighted friends wrote me an e-mail about the amazing things about having a friend who is blind. I loved that e-mail and am still collecting comments on it and will post them in this blog in the coming days. I started thinking a lot about my friends though and want to make the following observations. I am glad there are amazing things about having friends who are blind. I've been totally blind since birth and blindness is definitely a part of who I am. Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't been born blind, what career might I have chosen? Would I have been scared to interact with blind people? It is pretty interesting to think about and wonder about from time to time. Blindness, I am certain, has helped to make me the person I am. But, it is not the only thing that has. I am a woman. I am short. I am a storyteller and music therapist. I am a generally happy person. My sighted friends and relatives become embarrassed when they forget I am blind. If I ask how to lock their car door and they say, "Push down on the red button." If they hand me a photograph to check out. If they say, "Wow look at that!" They often apologize profusely afterwards. But, I am glad when people forget. It means that my blindness is not the thing that is always in their heads when they are with me. They are thinking of me not just as, "That blind girl." But as their friend. There is such a fine balance here. I don't mind answering questions. I don't mind the curiosity of the sighted. But I don't like to be the object of pity or as if I am a project to be taken on. One time in school, a girl asked if she could walk with me to class. We talked as we walked along. I could have found class by myself. I usually did. "You're at class now Kim," she said. I felt glad that she wanted to chat with me. As she turned away, I heard her say to her friend. "There. I just did my good deed for the day." I was shocked. Had I asked her to help me find class? No. I thought maybe we were becoming friends.

Sometimes, I like to be known as the blind girl by those who can't remember names.

There was a gentleman with Alzheimer's disease who lived in a nursing home where I worked. He loved music and had played instruments all of his life. He had no memory for names. I was the Music Therapist there and he would come looking for me. I didn't have a guide dog then or I probably would have been known as, "The girl with the dog." But I have one eye that is open and I can see a little bit out of that eye. The other eye is smaller and partly closed. I tried having an artificial shell in there but it bugged me a lot. Anyway, he used to say, "Where's old one eye? I want to see old one eye." I loved that. I knew that meant that he really was looking for me. Some staff used to get mad at him for calling me that but I loved it and it made me smile every time he said it. I love all of my friends because they are my friends and I hope that I am an equally good friend to them who happens to be blind.

Kim Kilpatrick

kimjkilpatrick@gmail.com

Storyteller, Presenter, Performer

Check out my web site and blog at

http://www.samobile.net/users/kimk/

I am proud to be a MASC artist.

Check out MASC and my profile at

http://www.masconline.ca

New blog about amazing things about being blind

http://kimgia3.blogspot.com