As I was walking down the hall at work one day another counselor, who was right behind me, asked if one of my parents had been blind. Well of course I told her yes, but I also asked her why she had asked such an unusual question. She replied that I had a lot of mannerisms that blind people have.

I never thought about it until then, and realized that I do have quite a few that could be mistaken for OCD, if you didn't know better. I run the back of my hand along the wall when i walk down hallways. I know exactly how many steps it is to get anywhere in my home no matter where I live. I'm a fanatic about cupboard doors and drawers being shut. My finger tip goes in a cup when I pour anything and when it reaches the tip I know the cup is full. I don't have to have the lights on to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water at night.

My Mom was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa when she was 12 years old and developed glocoma in her thirties. Her blindness slowly developed over the years, worsening as she got older. I took over more and more of the household chores as I grew up partially because of her blindness and partially because of cultural traditions.

When you grow up with a handicapped parent you don't think you, your home, or your family is any different than any other, in any major way, after all every family is different. There are somethings that stand out though. My mother doesn't believe that a handicap is an excuse not to try anything you want to do. Her favorite saying is "A crutch by any other name...." No excuses allowed. She even made it into the Who's Who of American Business Women through her own determination.

Because her blindness is normal to us there were some things she did that we tease her about like the time she bought a can of hominy, instead of a can of corn, to go with our dinner. This happened when she could still kind of make out the pictures but could no longer read print. One time when we were at the PX she walked into a maniquin and said excuse me.

She didn't go to a school for the blind until I was in my mid twenties, when she realized that we were all growing up, and there were some things she had to learn to do for herself. That's when she discovered books on tape, and also realized how much she really did depend on us kids at home and her secretary at work.

One time when we were at the grocers I had wandered a bit ahead of her, forgetting to check and see if she was holding on to the cart, or my hand bag. I'd only gotten a few steps ahead of her and realized I'd left her behind. I turned around and jokingly said "Hey Mom, come on. What's the matter with you are you blind or something?" A woman in the next line over gave me a filthy look and said "I never!" I looked back at her and said "I bet you never did." and kept on my merry way.

Who ever said you had to be "politically correct" with your own family members? Who ever said you can't tease them about themselves even if it's about a handicap? Some things you just have to laugh at, or become bitter, and angry. My Mom didn't ask to go blind but she is and if that's the way she and the rest of us deal with it, that's our perogative.