Frozen in memory forever

One could easily say that many of us freeze things in memory forever but my frozen memories have a bit of a twist to them. It goes something like this. All of the memories that I collected and stored in my memory back when I had enough vision are now stored forever, despite knowing that my memories will now be forever out of date with reality. Please allow me to explain a bit more clearly.

Our features change with time and facial looks also change with time. The memories of nieces and nephews when they were younger have all changed since my last visual sighting of them. They are older now and some of them have grown from preteen years into teenagers and beyond. True it is that many faces remain a semblance and are a mature version of what they were as younger ones, but my memories of what they looked like at the time are frozen forever.

Memories of hockey games are frozen forever. Memories of my favorite ice skating figure skaters are also frozen forever and memories of strolls through the malls and walks through the parks are also frozen forever. Some memories will no doubt be like history in that memories of the past are history but when it comes to changing features and facial looks, that's a bit different.

I hope that I am not confusing anyone with this but I am really trying hard to explain myself. Maybe it is something like this: I remember Marcus as a preteen and Faith as a toddler and now that they are both older, my memory of them remains the same.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to visit me any time at www.donnajodhan.com.

The opened cupboard doors

Yet another daily challenge for me to manage, but you know what? It is really not as difficult as one may think. Come to think of it, sighted persons probably have the same type of challenge on their hands. Leave a cupboard door opened and if you forget then you run the very high risk of running into it. The difference between me and my sighted friends and family is that they can probably see it most of the time and I cannot so I go headlong into it. So, how do I deal with this? Easier than you may think.

I depend on my good old memory to help me out, to make it a habit to close all cupboard doors each time I enter a cupboard. I am always careful each time I approach a cupboard and make sure that the door is properly closed before doing what I need to do. Thank goodness that my sighted family and friends are mindful of my challenge and they do not leave cupboard doors opened. The same would also apply to opened draws and anything else similar. Care, care! That's my motto for the day.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to tell others about my opened cupboard door challenge. Come by anytime and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

How I learned to swim

I learned to swim like almost every other kid did! Dad taught me and he did it effortlessly and with no prompting from anyone. He taught my brothers how to swim and the only difference here is that I was blind and my brothers were sighted.

Dad gently placed me on my belly in the calm waters of the ocean, placed his hand under my belly and then told me to paddle my legs and move my arms. I was never afraid and soon he was showing me how to swim back and forth. After this came the different strokes: butterfly, back stroke, the crawl, and so much more.

Dad took me into the sea and showed me how to swim beyond the breakers. He showed me how to surf and jump the waves, swim with and against the current, and the rest was very easy. Then we went into a fresh water pool and by that time I had learned enough to swim on my own.

I have so many memories of Dad and my brothers frolicking in the waves with me. We had such fun and my cousins were always there to share in the delight. I used to love to lie on my back and float effortlessly, looking up at the bright blue skies with puffy white clouds drifting lazily by. Or I would lie on my stomach and swim slowly back and forth, looking at the sunlight playing on the water. I did somersaults, dived below the surface, swam with one leg in the air, and so much more. What great memories forever!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my swimming delights with others. Come visit me at www.donnajodhan.com.

Checking the makeup

Another challenge for me, but if I follow my instructions then I should be okay. The easiest thing for a blind person in this case would be to ask for sighted assistance, to put it on and to check it. In my case, however, I almost always put it on and if there is sighted assistance around then I get them to check it.

If I am on my own, then I am extremely careful. I blot my lipstick as I have been taught. I apply my other makeup as I have been instructed to do as a blind person, then I hope for the best. The challenge lies in that I am unable to tell if I have either applied enough or too much. With practice, however, I have learned how to do it well enough.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Challenges of circulating

At the best of times it is awfully difficult for anyone to circulate and mingle at a function, especially so when it is a function where you do not really know anyone else. For me, as a blind person, it is very difficult and sometimes I find myself in very funny or entertaining situations.

Whenever I go to any function, I do my best to find out if I am going to meet anyone there that I know and if this is the case then I do my best to contact them before hand and ask if we could hang out together. This makes my life a bit less difficult because then I don't have to feel nervous trying to make acquaintances with persons I do not know and especially so when I am not sure of my physical environment.

If I do not know anyone who will be going then here is where my challenge resides. I have to ensure that I can talk to someone before hand who will help me to find my way around the physical facilities and this is sometimes very easy but every now and then I am unable to find help and so I have to go to the function in question and hope for the best.

Now, if I go to the function, do not know anyone, and have not been able to find some assistance beforehand, I have to devise my own strategy to get by. I would usually ask for such assistance at the desk of the reception and if this does not work then I have to be brave and walk gingerly into the reception and hope for the best. It is extremely difficult for me as a blind person to find my way around in a crowded and unfamiliar room, locate the food tables, navigate what is on these tables, and find the waiters. Just another challenge for me to overcome, all in a day's work.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit me anytime at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Cleaning out my drawers and closets

At the best of times this is not an easy task for anyone, sight or no sight. But for a blind person like me, it is tedious, time consuming, and sometimes a bit nerve-wracking. It is tedious for me as a blind person because I have to make sure that I have everything in order. That I know where everything is placed, where they have been taken out from, and where I am going to place them when reorganizing and repacking.

It is time-consuming for me because I need to be extra careful. Why? So that I do not mix up things. That I make sure that things are organized according to color, size, and how I want to wear them. Experience has taught me that one tiny slip and that's it! Everything will go haywire and I'll have to ask for sighted help and start all over again. Nerve-wracking because I know that one mistake and it is back to the beginning. So there you have it and there is
my challenge for the day.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.orgwww.nfb.org to learn more.

Time to give back

This is my motto! It is never too early or too late to give back. For where would we be if someone had not given back to us? Things don't happen overnight and they certainly do not happen with just one party constantly doing the giving back. It is a bit of give and a bit of take. You give to me, and then I give to someone else. Someone does for me and I in turn return the favor by giving back. We can only survive by doing this. We must not forget to give back. Give back to our respective communities. Give back and you would be surprised to see how great an effect it will have on others. It is called the multiplier effect.

By giving back we help others and in turn they will help others beyond our horizon. Giving back can be a really great feeling. A great action and a great benefit. So why not start it now? It does not necessarily have to be something big. Start with something small and go from there. A smile, followed by a helping hand. Then a small service and so on.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and nviting you to share my thoughts with others. Come by anytime and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Down the islands

So, what am I talking about today? This is a sort of seaside resort that my brother Jeffrey and sister-in-law Gayle took me to some years ago. I had never been before but now as I remember it, it was simply a very good experience for me.

I had enough vision then to see all around me. The huge colorful boats crowded with sea goers. The calm and peaceful sea just beckoning me to jump in and swim around. The sun beating down on us in all its glory. The blue skies above me with puffy white clouds drifting lazily by. We had such a great time. The kids loved it all, swimming around and around our boat. Gayle and I jumped in and we swam around as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my swim in the calm warm water and I was able to see enough to navigate my way. We spent a few hours at this resort and then made our way slowly back to shore. I simply loved to see the white spray as our boat traveled across the peaceful ocean.

Ah yes! Another memory that I just happened to pull out of my memory bank. One that I have carefully preserved for all time.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to visit my new website at www.donnajodhan.com. Come and enjoy my detective DJ mysteries.