It's not
that I want sympathy,
But I do
want understanding.
Being
blind has many difficulties,
Especially
for a family!
I can't
zip up to the shop,
when we
unexpectedly run out of milk.
I can't kick
a ball with the children
Or take
them to the park.
I can't
bandage a bleeding finger
or see
the extent of a wound.
I can't
watch cooking on the stove,
or catch
a baby falling to the ground.
I can't
drop my wife off,
when the
carpark is too full,
and drive
the children around,
till
she's finished buying food.
She can't
drop me off,
at an
unfamiliar stall,
or ask me
to find a table,
in a
crowded food mall.
Yes there
are lots of things I can do
But I
can't do so much more.
They don't
balance each other out
Don't
reason with me that way.
My poor
wife and children
work
overtime to compensate my eyes
my
5-year-old leads me round the hardware store
my wife
has no choice but to drive
Your
offers of help are appreciated.
Please
follow through with your pledge.
It's
better if you see what needs doing
To
relieve the tension and edge.
Don't get
me wrong, I'm not complaining.
there are
many people worse off than us.
I'm
writing this as education
Because
things aren't always obvious.
I'm
writing so you know how my wife feels,
So you
know how tired she gets.
Everything
depends on her eyes,
It fills
life with stress.
Yes I can
change nappies,
I can
cook and bathe the children.
Yes I can
make wooden toys,
play
hide-and-seek and hug them.
This is
not about what I can do,
for these
things I don't need help.
Its to
educate and explain what is hard,
which
make life so difficult.
When
you're blind things take longer:
going
shopping, finding a toilet,
reading
the mail, paying the bills,
cleaning
up the house and garden,
cooking
the meals.
I don't
need more advice,
I'm not
asking for a solution.
I'm
explaining things so you can understand,
to reduce
people's expectation.
Being
blind is hard there's no doubt,
Especially
with a family!
Please try
and remember our plight,
We need
your understanding.