Welcome to Hadley

Today I received everything I needed to begin my Introduction to Braille class. And I just turned in my first assignment!



I am enrolled at Hadley School for the Blind. They offer a lot of programs to the blind, visually impaired, family members, and professionals. We obviously decided against Justin teaching me Braille. SFA didn't work out either. I am very happy with Hadley though and the best part is that they offer their services for free to me because I am a spouse!



Even though it is sad, frustrating, and confusing to us that Justin's vision has changed so much that I have to learn Braille, I am very thankful that there are resources out there for me to take advantage of.



Okay, okay, some may argue that I technically don't have to learn Braille due to current technology, but check out the benefits:



1) I can share in some of the massive Braille labeling projects around the house--pantry items, cooking instructions, DVDs, CDs, appliances, medicine, etc. It isn't fair for Justin to have to do ALL of it!



2) Board games. We love to play games. If I learn Braille I can help make it to where Justin can enjoy them again.



3) I will be able to communicate with Justin using a written form. Reminders on the fridge, greeting cards, love notes...you know, all those little things.



4) Learning Braille might prepare me for our future family. It is a possibility that our children will be blind so why not prepare for it? If we have a child who is blind it would be nice to have both a father and mother who know Braille. Things like checking homework would be difficult if I didn't know Braille.



So there you have it. Those are some of the reasons I am learning Braille. And believe me, I will be learning for a long time because it looks HARD. The first lesson was the history of Braille and I peeked at the next lesson....yeesh. It is titled "Reading Braille". Wait, aren't we going a little fast here?