I Was Blind, but now I see...

My sister-in-law Marie is learning sign language, and she had to spend a day 'deaf'. She remarked on her blog that she thought it would be much worse to be deaf than be blind. I discussed this with Lisa, and she was of the same opinion.

Personally, I think I'd choose deafness. Having gone through days in which I couldn't wear my contacts and didn't have glasses, I fear blindness.

Of course, being deaf would be hard. Social interaction is much more difficult; anyone can speak to a blind man, but if you don't know sign language, conversation with someone who's deaf is a trickier matter. Also, the thought of giving up so much- From Mendelssohn and Mozart to the Beatles and Beach Boys to Muse and Coldplay- is a very sad thought for me.

However, while deafness is more isolating, I feel like blindness is more incapacitating. It would be so terrible for me to not be able to help in the kitchen, to not be able to drive to work, or read emails without a specific program; to have to learn a whole new language to read books; to be unable to find my way around a church building; to never know what my children's faces looked like. Honestly, it would also be hard for me to give up watching movies and playing computer games. It would be really hard for me to not be able to find things (even more than I can't find them now).

I feel very blessed that I haven't had to make that choice.