[nagdu] The Habit of Independence

[Tami Jarvis]

Tracy,

Oh, my! That's kinda what I'm finding here, although admitting that I'm 
battling myself to get out alone more is because I got too in the habit 
of not doing that when we lived on the Road of Certain Doom.

The title Habit of Independence is very apt.

For the record, I did not -- *did* *not* -- just admit that I let myself 
get into the habit of dependence. I never said it! /lol/

With a partner, of course, getting back to a healthy habit of 
interdependence can be tricky. Which also, I am finding, affects the 
guide dog. He wants to protect and can allow that to turn into 
interference. The dog, again, manages to deal much better than the two 
of us. /lol/ We're all getting back into the swing of better balance now 
that our lives are settling down into a sort of balance after a pretty 
scrambled year.

I'll have to look for that article. Sounds like something that applies 
to me! /smile/

Tami

On 01/03/2013 10:16 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
> Talking to Rebecca this morning reminded me of an article I read in the
> Monitor several years ago called The Habit of Independence.  I don't
> remember who wrote it, but I've never forgotten it.
> This woman lived in town, where she could get around easily, and thought
> nothing of going out by herself and doing what she wanted to do.  Then,
> for family reasons, she and her husband moved somewhere where it was
> hard for a blind person to get around.  She had to wait for someone to
> drive her most of the time.  When they eventually moved to a new place,
> where getting around was easy, she found that she'd lost the habit of
> independence.  She had to make a real effort to regain it and go out on
> her own, without waiting for someone to come with her.
> I understood it when I read it, and even more so over the years.  My
> husband and I work in the same office, and, for a while, we went in
> together and came home together.  It was nice to have company, though I
> missed working my dog on my own.  But I got used to always having
> someone with me.  Then we changed our schedules a bit, so we could
> better care for my retired dog, and we stopped travelling to and from
> work together.  And, somewhat to my surprise, I had to make a real
> effort to get out of the habit of having someone with me, and practice
> going off by myself.
> I just thought I'd mention the article, and my experiences.  To me, it
> was probably the most meaningful Monitor article I've ever read.
> Tracy
>
>
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