Going blind

I was in a flap.

I had sent off my passport to a government agency for something to be done and had taken care to do so by special delivery. Because husband had done the actual registration I had assumed that he had arranged all payments and would have organized the passport to be returned by special delivery.

No, he hadn't. There was nothing to pay, he said, so he could not pay for return postage, special delivery or not.

So I fretted for the best part of a week. The passport was returned by ordinary post on Saturday. They required it again because something else was not sent. So, another trip down to post office to organize special delivery to and fro this time.

I worked in Amsterdam where the trade of certain types of passports is good business. It is also going to be a real hassle if I did lose my passport. So I guess I "had the right" to be worried.

Then I got a letter from husband's late cousins's partner. She is going blind slowly, and her daughter is only going on 16 with GCSEs to sit, and needed to be transported to and from school because they live in a little village somewhere.

How was she going to do this when she couldn't see to drive, or could not afford a taxi, or the bus services finishes too early for the girl to return from school?

My fear about losing my passport pales in significance when I discovered what she is going through.

Especially in this period of Lent, I must remain grateful for what I have.

Back to Organic-Ally.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Six inches of time and 20 centimetres of parenting left

Son's piano teacher tells us that he has "lazy fingers" and should consider playing the organ. Is he joking or what? Dunno. But some time back he brought to my notice my son's tendency to "swap fingers" and I blogged about it here . Then he organized for us to go to his church where he is organist for son to try out the organ ( here ). The conclusion was son is a 'natural' on the organ. Okay. What do we do? It's good news, but let us not be rash about anything. My feeling then was: thankfully we still have six inches of time. Son was too short to reach the pedals and we will just carry on with his piano and clarinet. He's had a growth spurt. First he was tall enough for us to despatch with the car booster seat. (We highly recommend Freecycle.) Then last week even other parents started telling us that he had "shot up". His mate who has been much the same height as him suddenly looked small. I measured him a couple of days ago and he
Read more

The year that was 2023

Image
 It's been another year of ups and downs. A recent trip to Montalbano and Godfather country (Sicily) to celebrate 25 years of marriage was certainly an "up", despite a burst tyre three minutes before reaching our first hotel (the "down"). However, I would place the highlight of my year as learning about goalball and watching it played 'live' at the recent "Blind Games" (IBSA: International Blind Sport Federation).  Back in August I decamped once again to a university in the Midlands to teach EAP (English for Academic Purposes) to incoming international pre-Master's students. Seven weeks away. I really do enjoy teaching these students. Most of them come from university cultures where they do not question the authorities and certainly not their professors. They were used to quoting their professors in order to get a good grade! Talk about stroking egos.  Imagine their surprise when I tell them that, "Look! Teachers do not have all the a
Read more

Overcoming obstacles or the blind leading the blind?

Image
 In sharing university campus accommodation with blind and partially sighted athletes at the 2023 World Games, I learned of a most amazing game called goalball . This comes amidst my contemplation of Martha Nussbaum’s “capabilities framework”, which suggests that instead of making everyone “the same” to achieve equality, we start with assessing the individual’s capabilities, and then decide on the resources needed to make that person function at their fullest (God-given) capacity. Athletes arriving with guide dogs and sighted supporters to help them navigate unfamiliar terrain Goalball is a very physical game. Players use their whole body to stop their opponents scoring goals stretched across the width of the pitch. Bells inside the 1.25kg ball allow players to “see” where the ball. If you watched them ‘live’, as I did, you might notice the incredible way players catch and block the ball as it bounces and rolls. You might even forget that they are blind. By embedding bells, the
Read more