The Blind Inspiring the Blind

This past weekend, the three oldest kids and I went with the youth group to Seven Springs, PA for an incredibly fun trip.  With my brother and 2 of his boys on the trip, this also felt like a family vacation.

To distinguish between two boys with the same name on the ski trip, the kids and I deemed one the boys Blind Boy because he forgot his glasses.  Compensating for the missing lenses, the poor teen had to squint a lot or ask us to read things for him.

My oldest recounted to me how, when he played cards, he had to hold his cards close to face to read them. This left him still figuring out what was in his hand was while the rest of the players were slapping down their cards to yell, "Blitz!"

Then after one rambunctious boy flipped the card table, the cards scattered everywhere.  She and Blind Boy took the time to collect and sort both decks needed for this raucous game.  Each card he picked up needed to be examined closely before he could determine what it was.  Then he had to bend over close to the piles to see which pile that card belonged in.  Needless to say, this tedious task took longer because he couldn't see well.

(I butted into her story to ask the obvious question, "Why didn't someone who could see sort the cards for him?")

We wondered how Blind Boy could've snowboarded down the mountain when everything looked white and, you know, the same.  How could he tell the difference between a mogul and just snow?  How could he see the sharp turns where the trail merged?  How could he see the dips and drops if everything was the same white color?

As we discussed this mystery, my oldest daughter shared her insight.  Observing a blind skier lead down the slopes by a blind skier guide, her curiosity was pricked.  "What is it like to go down the hill blind?" she wondered. To find out, she skied down with her eyes closed.  I couldn't let her go on about how she heard people approaching her and how she would follow them down the trail because I was incensed!

"What??? You CLOSED your eyes while skiing?  On purpose?  Never, never, never, never do that again!!!"

What's even worse, is that she began this experiment on an easier green slope, but unknowingly merged onto a difficult black diamond trail before finishing on a moderate blue trail.

Of course, I'm darn proud of my daughter for this huge accomplishment.  But at the same time, I'd like to wring her neck for such stupidity.  I always prefer to hear about my children's dangerous stunts in the past tense since I am too frightened thinking of how they could hurt themselves as their daringness is happening in real time.

I've never been known as Miss Safety.  But that's the thing about kids: they are always improving us. Until my kids get a better grasp on safety, I guess I'll have to improve my skills as their seeing-eye-safety guide.

My 7 year old skiing through a tunnel.
Let's hope she never skies blindly like her sister.