[blparent] Please help me snap out of my pity-party

[Jennifer Bose]

Hi, parents.

Overall, I tend to think of blindness as just inconvenient. But
sometimes, blindness and parenthood together get me started on
thinking of blindness as a real pain. I guess there are always issues
that will present challenges for anyone, and mine aren't all that big,
I realize. But here they are:

My two daughters are three years old and six months old. While I'm
paying attention to my baby and I'm alone with both of them, I find it
tough to track what my three-year-old is doing. If I'm well-rested,
this isn't such a big deal. But if I'm tired, it's more than
frustrating. She's very bright and independent and often surprises me
with all the things she can now do on her own. But there are times
when I'll discover that she's playing with water or glue in a place
where she shouldn't, and then I've thought to myself: Well, if I'd
seen her with that water glass, this never would have happened!

And then, there's this whole world of visual media that I wish I could
share with her. All the picture books, DVDs, coloring books--I feel
like they're off limits to me and that I miss out on all the fun she
has going through them with other people. Not that she should
necessarily learn everything from me, but she and I don't get to
engage each other through any of that.

Ugh! I'm making myself really depressed and a little nauseated here. I
guess this is when I should start being grateful for what I have.
Please, have any of you ever felt these frustrations? What do you say
to yourself, or what do you do, to get your positive attitude back?

Thanks for reading this rant. I know it will survive in cyberspace
forever. Oh, well ...

Good times. Starting to laugh already!
Jen