[Blindtlk] Christmas questions

[Graves, Diane]

Hi chastity and all,

Just chiming in here again.  I was scrolling down through my email
messages, and I saw all the responses before I got to chastity's
original message.  This is why mine was a bit incomplete I think.

As I said earlier.  I typically do not decorate for the holidays for a
number of reasons, blindness not being one of them.  I am totally blind,
and I also do enjoy checking out a beautiful holiday decor, and taking
in the aroma of a real tree and so on and so forth.  It just doesn't
work well in my life as it is for me to be doing this in my home.

But I chimed in again because I wanted to touch on another of your post
points.  I don't think that any of us would deny that as blind people we
do miss out on some of the visual wonders and joys that others take for
granted.

Not just related to Christmas, but wonders such as seeing a brilliant
sunset, or your child's face for the first time, or looking back through
the years at pictures of your kids when they were growing up and on and
on.  God gave vision to those who were blessed with sight to bring joy
and wonder and fulfillment and to provide information just as any other
of the five senses does. Sight plays a major and important and rewarding
role in the lives of those who have it.

The key, though, when you are called upon to live without one of the
five  senses, is to learn to enjoy and draw from the ones you have that
much more.  They may not provide the information in the exact same way,
but they can provide the same level of joy and excitement in different
ways.

Can't take pictures of your kids?  Make tape recordings or home videos
with sound.  

Can't see the first fresh snowfall?  Reach down and touch the ground or
the bushes or trees or cars covered with snow, Feel the soft fluffy
texture between  your fingers.  Listen to the way it sounds when you
walk in it, and experience the way it feels under your feet.  You know
what I mean.  I've always gotten great joy from those things.  Just have
to learn to use alternative roads/techniques, to arrive at the same
destination.

I would do well to take my own advice.  I some times have trouble
remembering to count my blessings and make the most of what I have
myself.  Most of that isn't related to blindness at all, but you know
what I mean. 

Anyway, I have no doubt that your vision that remains does provide you
with an avenue  of enjoyment not available to many of us.  But if you
lost that vision tomorrow, I'm sure you would learn to capture the same
feelings through alternative methods.

Very best of Holiday Seasons to all,
Diane Graves 
Civil Rights Specialist 
Indiana Civil Rights Commission 
Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit 
317-232-2647 

 

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."--Winston
Churchill  


 

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-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Chasity Jackson
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006 9:59 AM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Blindtlk] Christmas questions


Hi everyone,

Recently, some discussions I have had with blind friends have brought up
some interesting points and opinions, and I am curious about some
things.

Many of you may know Tom Anderson from the CCB. I talk to Tom and Linda
quite frequently. The other night, before Thanksgiving, we were talking
about different things we do at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I asked if
they usually put up a tree. And they said no because they are usually in
Minnesota with his family at Christmas or in Kansas with hers. Then Tom
made the point that, "Even if we were home, I don't think we would put
up a tree." I was just curious and asked, "Do you think it's because you
both are totally blind and can't see the lights and decorations," and
Linda said yes. I never really thought that, and I guess it just came to
mind right there when she mentioned that. So I asked a couple more blind
friends and they don't put up trees and decorations either for the same
reason. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. I just think it's an
interesting discussion. Then, another friend of mine who is blind asked
what I usually do for Christmas. So we got to talking and I asked her
the same thing. She and her husband are both totally blind and they go
all out with decorations and the tree, lights and such, but they have
two kids and now have grandchildren. So that just made me curious about
everyone's Christmas situation. Are you partially blind or totally
blind, and do you go all out for Christmas or not? Does anything such as
having children or grandchildren have a factor on what you do? For
instance, maybe you probably wouldn't put a tree up for yourself because
you can't see it, but you do because you have sighted kids, grandkids or
family that come over.

Chris and I put up a tree each year. This will be our first year putting
up a big tree because we now have the space for it. Before, we had
little apartments and used a short fiberoptic tree we put on our table.
Now, I really want to go all out and get a six and a half foot
artificial pre-lit tree from Walmart. 

I have to admit that this is the time of year when I am greatful to have
what sight I do have. Any of you who know me know I have no problems
with my blindness and that it doesn't hinder my independence or stop me
from traveling or doing whatever I decide to do. But I just have to say
I am really glad to have the sight I do have to be able to enjoy the
holidays, see the Christmas lights on the tree, see the lights on
peoples' houses when we drive down the road, see the first snowfall of
each winter, the houses and cars covered in snow, see the snowey
Christmas scenes in Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph and all the other
holiday movies, etc. I have to get two inches from the TV to do that,
but I can still see a lot of what's going on if I get close enough. I
have to admit, although the DVS version of Rudolph describes everything
very well, it still doesn't beat being able to see it visually. Chris'
parents go all out and their house looks like a Christmas scene at the
holidays. This year is the first time we will spend Christmas with his
family. I am really looking forward to seeing the lights and
decorations. I have to say that if I lost my sight tomorrow, I wouldn't
worry about anything related to my independence like traveling,
cleaning, cooking, managing things around the house and every day
things, because I know how to do those things without my sight anyway. I
don't have enough sight to see cars when I walk down the road. So I've
obviously learned alternative techniques for every day things like that.
The thing I would be most upset about is not being able to see seasonal
things like this at Christmas or like it is in the spring or fall. But I
really think about these things around the holidays because things look
so different when they're all decorated and lit up. Although we can
still enjoy 99% of life without our sight, you hav to admit there are
some things that are just 100% visual that absolutely need sight to be
able to enjoy such as Christmas lights. I like being able to stand back
from the tree and see it all lit up and see the patterns of lights, etc.
But, if you are totally blind, you can't get that same enjoyment by
simply touching the lights. LOL. All you would be able to do is feel
they were warm because of being on, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm not
saying you have to be partially blind or sighted to enjoy the holidays,
but there are some aspects of seasonal times of the year, such as the
holidays, that are visual. At the same time, there are more than visual
things that you can enjoy. It just made me wonder, for those of you who
are blind and have kids or raised kids previously, did it ever bother
you when they would open up their gifts on Christmas, and although you
could hear the excitement in their voice, you couldn't see them opening
their gifts or see the expressions on their faces? 

Just wanted to bring this up to generate some discussion on the topic
since I found that interesting

Chasity