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Wednesday, 26 February 2014

GUIDING TIPS THE FIFI WAY


Good evening Bloggets. Oh my Husband has been away only some hours and he hasn’t even landed in America yet and I am missing him so much. Its dark I’m alone and even afraid. I have just been out to clean the dog run, bags, and gloves and bucket in hand with brush too. First its pitch black and I had to lock the gate around the side of the house. We live in a very quiet side avenue and though there are a couple of busy roads nearby, the side of the house is rather remote from life. It’s a little spooky around there. So we have a large gate with the builder being here, it’s been open. So he left rather late himself, he put a good day in today and I had to lock up behind him, well, I let him get out of the street first? Haha.

I stupidly dropped the lock and couldn’t find it among the dirt.

Hub normally would have found it for me. Teen of course out. Thank God he was coming back late tonight.

So I had to leave it open and where was the lock God knows? I did try to find it without success.

Then off to the bottom of the garden to the dog run. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s light or dark to find dog mess.

Lovely, hah?

 Disposable glove on my right hand and left hand has the bag. Three dogs cause such a mess?

Then off with the glove and brush and bucket time with lots of disinfectant.

Hose it all down and job done. But I was blooming terrified. It was so dark though I couldn’t see the dark, I could feel it?

Sounds are so different.

The air feels differently too. Smells are also different.

Fear is closer.

It’s the silence around me. The knowledge that no one is in the house.

Or are they?

I always think if I’m in the garden, there is no one stopping themselves from going in my house without me knowing until it’s too late?

When I first went blind, every second of my life was like this. I imagined behind each door was a man all in black with a black mask on too. God it was horrible.

As a sighted person you can look around you may not know you are doing it, but you do? Next time you are out for the night, when you come home if the house is empty, close your eyes before you go in the house? Leave all lights off don’t even look for the switch, keeping eyes closed. It’s scary.

And you know you can open your eyes anytime?

There are bits of equipment all over the garden too. Tools and such, though our guy is a nice man and I know he does his best to tidy up.

Is my step in yet?

Nope!

So I ask my angel to keep telling me not to go to the freezer or dryer in the garage, as if I go out of the front door forgetting about our step, there still is a drop of three foot. One meter.

Not a good look. A splattered Fifi Blogget?

Haha.

Dreading the weekend. Teen going to his Fathers. I hate him going there. I did my best to keep them together, because it is the right thing to do, but my teen doesn’t benefit from it, in fact the opposite.

My x is not a good influence sadly. I wish he was. I always wanted him to be a good Father, but sadly he never has been and never will be. The last time Teen went to see him, he came back mortal drunk. So the x put him on a train, drunk. OK I know teen shouldn’t have got drunk at sixteen? But he is 16. Stupid. My x is years older than me well, nine years. So should know better? He is irresponsible. He also teaches teen absolute rubbish and is not the brightest button in the sewing box.

But he is teens Father and sadly, there is no alternative.

I hope when teen is at his Fathers, he doesn’t fill his head with stuff a kid shouldn’t know about? Like finances, and how good my x thinks he is in bed?

Honestly, it’s gross!

I wish he could fill his head with how important it is to work as one thing my x isn’t shy of his work and hard work he does. Lazy is a swear word to my X. He for sure is the best worker for hard labour I know of. Teen must take after me? Hahaha.

Today I had a nice chat with my friend who came over for coffee. She’s lovely and we get on so well.

She was saying she went onto the website to see about getting help with guiding Hub and myself? Haha haha. I did laugh; though bless her she so want’s to do the right thing. I told her, to chill. If she looks at a DVD she will be out with us always feeling like she is being tested? Is she doing the right thing, wrong thing?

Thing is, every blind person is different?

I’m like a new born foal…. Hub is More. confident.

So there is no real rule?

Anyway, she thought it would be fill in the form and receive the DVD.

Nope, she received an email saying they would like to send someone out to show her?

OMG?

What?

This is why some sighted people are afraid of us blindies ; we don’t want to be different?

OK, if it is a business or school or something, sure thing, but a friend?

So here are Fifi’s golden rules.

  1. When meeting your blind friend, though they may know your voice, still always say Hi, its John… “Unless you are not John of course? Haha
  2.  Just ask how they would like to be guided? Hub just puts his hand on the guides shoulder or gently touches their elbow. Blind people don’t like being linked or dragged/pulled. If we hold your arm, you can guide us. If you link us, we normally are in front.
  3. Tell us which way the car  we are about to get into is facing
  4. When finding a seat for  us, put our hand on the back, if you say there is a seat, we don’t know  which way it’s facing
  5. We don’t always want to know what time our food is. I mean like “Your peas are at twelve o clock. Potatoes at three and carrots six at nine is your Yorkshire pudding. It just sounds so disabled? You could be subtle and say oh your Yorkshire pudding looks lovely and you have a couple of veg on their carrots and peas!
  6.  When we are out walking with you if you could say if the steps are up or down? A lot of people the ones, who remember, just say steps. OK, so up or down? Many times I look rather odd if my leg goes up and the steps are going down? OK, I just look odd. I guess what I am trying to say is be as normal as possible. But bless her cotton socks for trying? I bet if she gets the DVD, she will think Oh my God? Haha. Everyone is different though. xxx

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