Hello again,

A thing which I would like to discuss is how safe do you feel as a blind or visually impaired person when going out in bad weather like we’re currently experiencing?

Or any disabled person fo that matter. I have read a few stories about wheelchair users not feeling safe.

I am not a fan of the wind and rain or snow. It makes it more difficult to see and my cane becomes unusable. I cannot leave the house alone. Is anyone else in the same situation?

I try hard to do as much stuff as everyone else, yet sometimes I have to be realistic. I have to ask myself the question, do I feel safe?

The other day the answer was no. I chose not to leave the house.
I made the right decision. My trains were cancelled later in the day and I would have been stuck.

When looking on Twitter I have found that other disabled people were thinking the same as myself. I was glad to not be alone in my decision. However, it also re enforces how stressful independence can be for us as disabled people. Especially when things do not go to plan.

Be kind to yourself, know your limits and know it is OK to say ‘I am putting my safety first’. I have rearranged my week so I can now do what I was going to do on the Sunday, but now do it on the Thursday. Everything has worked out fine and I am happy.

Think that’s it for this week.

Twitter: @PhilippaB                                                                                                                       Instagram: @VisuallyImpairedPip

Hello again.

How are you?

This week I’m writing about to do lists. Big and small.

Mondays are my regular days off, so any hospital appointments, any sport massages, writing blogs, cleaning etc all the normal to do list stuff happens on Mondays.

Todays to do list consisted of wiping my room over, I have laminate floor down with two rugs. So while vacuuming works I still have to wipe the floor over with flash wipes.
The next thing was my bathroom. Thats all tidy. Then to tackle that sock pile which needs putting away.

Getting through your to do list can be quite boring, so I tend to tell myself ‘If we do this, we can have a cup of tea’. That way you have your cup of tea and you sit down and feel accomplished because the house is tidier, the bins are empty and every thing smells like apples because that’s the scent the wipes have.

I am at work Tuesday, Wednesday and on Thursday I’m off to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Very excited. I have seen it about 8 times. Then on Friday I am meeting up with a friend. Which I am also looking forward too.

One thing I need to do more of is socialising. I am not a big fan of socialising in large groups. I much prefer smaller groups of people. It’s easier to hear what people are saying. So that is on my list of to dos.

The thing I need to remember is, everyone is different. Some people have a lot of energy to do different things. Like at work at lot people go out and socialise in larger groups, or they’ll play sports. I am not too competitive like they are at work so I tend not to do that sort of stuff.

But there are people at work who enjoy similar things to me so I can socialise with them. I like being able to go out, it’s just exhausting for me. Which is where I need to remember to be kind to myself. But also remember that I do need to socialise because that’s another area where you can get happiness from.

I am tying to change up my routine in the coming weeks, just by socialising a little more with people who enjoy similar things to me.
I like the people I work with, we share a lot of similar passions, I just wish I had more energy.

So that’s my blog for this week. Mondays is also my chill out and have a nice bath day. So I’m off to run one.

Speak soon 🙂

Twitter: @PhilippaB

Instagram: @VisuallyImpairedPip