[blparent] kids and the park
Jo Elizabeth Pinto
jopinto at msn.com
Fri Jan 6 18:44:55 UTC 2012
It's hard, Stephanie, I know, because my family always expected a lot of me,
which was a positive thing in some ways. But somehow, my best was never
good enough. Sooner or later, you have to decide who you're going to
believe. I'm still working on it, but I choose to believe that my best is
good enough, and more than good enough. I don't have much contact with my
family anymore, partly because they refused to believe that I could raise a
child in a clean, stimulating environment that met her needs. Well, the
truth is telling itself. My daughter is bright, happy, and confident.
Choosing to believe in yourself isn't easy, but it's better than giving in
and embracing the lies and fears that were handed to you, maybe by
well-meaning family members, because they didn't know what potential you
had.
I remember the first time I took my daughter to the playground that's right
here in the condo complex where I live. I was afraid, worried that
something might happen, that I might fail to keep my baby safe in some way,
all those thoughts that tumble around in your head. But I took a deep
breath and went, and everything turned out fine. Now Sarah and I go all
over the complex, usually while she's riding her bike. We've discovered
leaves, holiday decorations, and friends. I got lost with her once, and
that was scary, but I stopped a couple walking their dogs, and eventually
made it back home. My daughter ran away from me and wouldn't come back one
time, and I had to get some other kids at the park to help me round her up.
I was embarrassed, but we made it home safely, and since we didn't go out to
the park again for quite a while after that, Sarah decided that running away
wasn't a wise choice. I twisted each ankle, on separate occasions while
helping Sarah climb, and had to limp home twice. Sarah fell and scraped her
knee once, and we had to trek home for a Band-Aid. She's gotten dirty, had
a few accidents because we couldn't make it home in time to get to the
bathroom, and in spite of all that, she loves going out and has had loads of
fun. I'm saying all this to tell you that some of your worries might come
true, but in the end, you'll make it home and feel better about yourself
because of it. Take a few precautions like having a cell phone or money for
a pay phone, maybe write down a taxi number and take it with you, and then
just start out. You'll build confidence as you go. And remember, it's not
a bad thing to ask for help, or directions. It doesn't mean you failed as a
blind person--it means you're human.
Jo Elizabeth
"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of
the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Sheila Leigland" <sleigland at bresnan.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 10:54 PM
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] kids and the park
> Hi steph I understand where you are coming from. I was told many of the
> same things. It freaked my mom out to watch me cross a street. I didn't
> learn much about housework or cooking until I decided to get married. All
> of this happened after college. I know you will be okay. It is not
> posible to be one hundred times better than the sighted world. Twice as
> good was hard enough. You can only do the best you can noone should ask
> more of you than that.Mom couldn't imagine me being able to work and
> maiuntain a house. Old paterns can be hard to break. I had to learn to
> believe in myself even if others didn't see things that way.
>
> sheila leigland
>
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