Blind as a Bat

My very good friend Linda has recently undergone eye surgery on both of her eyes. The first surgery went fairly smoothly and within a day or so she was pretty functional. The second surgery was yesterday and she's having a bit tougher time bouncing back as she can't open the 'good eye' and the 'newly fixed eye' is under a patch. She's managing okay but while visiting her yesterday and making sure she had everything she needed at hand while she took it easy in bed, I got to thinking about the value of our sight as communicators. Maybe not as big of a deal as it once was, for sure. But I can't imagine how hard it would be to adjust.

It's the joy of being able to sit down and read print on paper of a good book, or skim through the newspaper or scan web pages that I would miss. I don't like noise and I tend to block it out quickly so if I was forced to listen to an audio book, I think my mind would block it out as white noise and I'd start thinking about something else. Or possibly I could listen, and sure I might get the story, but oh, how I would miss the joy of reading it. I love to watch my cooking shows, not for the dialogue, but to see the beauty of the ingredients and foods they create.

I am very thankful that Linda was able to get the surgery required to correct her vision. She's way more tuned in to technology than even I am, and she's comfortable listening to an audio book - which is what she's been doing for the past couple of weeks since her first eye surgery. But she, too, is an avid reader and I think, like me, she would greatly miss the viceral joy of holding a book and reading quietly.

So while technology has come a long way in making life much easier - or at least more accesssible - for the blind - I am very thankful to have my sight and plan on using it to its max every day for many years to come!