The Beginning

Where do I start, I guess a bit of a background would be helpful.

I am 41, visually impaired (I have around 5% vision, hence the title of this blog) , and recently separated from my husband of 11 years. I am attempting to find my way in this visual world of ours, learning to be independent and trying to cope living by myself. I am discovering the art of being frugal and living on a very small budget.

At the moment I live in a small cottage in a regional town. The town isn’t everybody’s idea of a great place to live but it is ideal for me. Apart from affordable housing it has all the amenities I am likely to need (shops, doctors, hospital, pathologists, library etc) in a relatively condensed area and importantly all within walking distance.

I have only been here a few weeks, previously I lived on a 25 acre property which is now about 40 minutes drive away, but as I have no means of transport it might as well be in a different state. I have not been back the farm as I affectionately call it since I left.

My ex still lives on the farm, I would have loved to have been the one to stay but practicalities made that impossible. At least I know all my beloved animals are being well taken care of. Leaving them is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, not that I think they have noticed my absence as they have plenty of spring grass, room to run and play and shelter to protect them from bad weather. That is all they really want or need.

When I moved my priority was to find a property that would be safe and secure for my two beautiful dogs. They are the focus of my life at the moment and their well being is very important to me. The place I bought is reasonably old and was very shabby, but with help from family and friends it has turned into a rather sweet little cottage that feels very much like home. There is still a lot of renovation work to do, no doubt some of it will be written about in this blog, but for the moment it is clean, comfortable and has everything I need.

This blog is about how I cope with my new life and my recollections of past events that are related to my visual impairment. I am writing as I want to have a record of my experiences as well as give me something to do each day. If by chance people stumble across it I’d love some company on my journey.

Disclaimer:

This blog is about my experiences and thoughts as a visually impaired person. It does not advocate or speak on behalf of other visually impaired or blind people. Everybody’s experience with vision loss is unique to them. Please don’t make assumption about visually impaired or blind people based on what you have read here.