I came home from college the summer after my sophomore year in college and needed a job, and quick. I posted on my Facebook page that I was available and asked my friends to let me know of anywhere hiring or anyone needing a babysitter/house sitter/dog sitter.
A family friend I had known for years through church messaged me with an interesting offer. She told me that she had a friend that needed someone to sit with her 16 year old daughter, who was blind.
This was an offer that I was not expecting. I worried about how I would interact with her and what we would spend our time doing. However, I was willing to give it a shot. I mean, how hard could it be? I just had to prepare her meals for her, help her get around, and talk to her.
I arrived at Ms. Penny and Chandler's home the very first day and met them both for the very first time. It was wonderful, meeting them was not uncomfortable at all. I was immediately left there with Chandler and we got to know each other as we spent the day together.
I learned that she loves scary movies, Netflix, Hulu, going out to eat, singing and talking on the phone (she calls her grandmother and her friends several times a day), and she loves playing with her phone. I mean, she can use her phone better than I can. She texts and plays games and loves her social media. Thanks to voiceover, she is able to use her phone without the assistance of anyone else. Voiceover is a function on phones that reads messages out to you and it helps her to text.
Chandler- you INSPIRE me. You may not be able to physically see, but you see the world in a way that I don't. You always have a smile on your face, and you are always happy. You love all people, no matter what. You are so sweet and so brave. In the two years that I have known you, you have NEVER been shy. You are always so excited to go out and meet people and do things. If you have a problem with your phone or tv, you call customer service for it and get it taken care of yourself.
Being able to spend time with you makes me appreciate the world that much more. Even though you do not have your sight, you are still as happy as can be. I am so lucky to know you. I genuinely look forward to spending my summers with you.
