Do The Blind See Better Than We Do?

I haven’t blogged in forever and I know that I owe those faithful followers a more detailed update on my life but I just wanted to talk about some amazing people I get to work with for the next few weeks.
I am currently temping covering the reception at CNIB (The Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and the people I meet here amaze me!
Today I met a 93 year old man who sat through 6 hours of testing and teaching and still was upbeat enough to joke around with me about putting his picture in the paper (you had to be there). The man uses a walker and is blind, but he is in much better shape that people much younger than him and in much better spirits.
Today I also met a boy who needed my help finding the address for the SPCA. The boy took out a bus map and held it an inch away from his face to try and find the address. He was distraught when the first address was 6 blocks away from a bus route. Luckily we found an alternate address and he went off to catch his bus. The fact that he can barely see and is taking public transportation amazes me enough (I’m scared out of my mind to take the bus, in Edmonton, who knows where I would end up), but that he is taking his time afterschool to go to the SPCA is incredible.
These are just two examples of the amazing people I get to interact with everyday for the next 3 weeks. Being blind is not a hardship for them it is a way of life.
I won’t be hypocritical and say suck it up these guys have a significant trial and they’ve made the best of it, because honestly I know that some of the hardest trials are once that you can’t see. But I hope that I can keep these people in mind next time one of those trials comes my way.