As people who are blind, we have always strived to do as much for ourselves as we can. We have always fought to be independent and self reliant. This life force drive to be the best we can be means that we have had to exercise judgment and know when the help we accept is charity, or friends helping friends because that is what people like to do.
When it came time to move into our newly constructed home, we knew that we would need meaningful help, big time. Our visits to the construction site provided a graphic illustration that we were moving to the frontier, where the services we take for granted would be few and far between, for a while. So, we contacted a colleague from work who is a Rotarian, and Sue Collar put up the request for volunteer help in settling in. The offers came back fast and we were soon making our first call to Mike and Elsie who offered to walk over as soon as we moved in.
That joyous day arrived, all be it six months late, and we arrived to find that the challenges were even greater than we had fantasized. We were the first family to move into a new hundred dwelling development. We were alone without neighbors.
When we first drove in, we found that there was a twenty-five foot wide deep hole in front of our garage. And the garage was filled with roofing and aluminum for other homes, there was no walkway to the front door and it was poring rain. We spent our first night in our new dream home alone, sleeping on the floor, on blown-up camping mattresses and sleeping bags and as forlorn as our wet guide dogs. It poured when our furniture arrived, phone service was delayed two weeks, and the street had no sidewalks or street lights. So, if we wanted to go anywhere we had to walk among the big trucks and construction equipment.
The first callers the next evening were mike and Elsie who came to offer a warm welcome to the new community and let us know they were ready to help. Their words of “You are not imposing” was music to our ears, as it was a clear sign that they were there because they wanted to work with us.
We set about making the wilderness livable. We had the help of many friends and Elsie and Mike were now part of that marry band of adventurers. They took us shopping for things we needed urgently. Elsie walked with me to learn the paths and stores. This orientation was invaluable in helping us to get out on our own and doing our own shopping. They lent us a lovely lime green wagon with high sides covered in pretty flowers to transport our groceries. Our daughter’s partner remarked that no self respecting male would be seen walking down the road with his guide dog pulling this colourful wagon, but it works. The wagon gets the job done. It reduces the number of times we have to get someone to drive our purchases home.
After it rained, Elsie and Mike would come and drive our old retired guide dog to the paths and take him for a walk, because the road looked like the muddy Mississippi. The guide dogs, and us, for that matter, get covered in mud, so without this help, we would have been unable to go out when it was wet. This service helped the dogs combat cabin fever, being confined in a house for days.
Perhaps the most valuable service provided was the construction of a temporary dog run. When we bought our house, the builder had promised to let us fence in our yard immediately. But, when we moved in late, this was not possible for the first winter. After we obtained some gravel from the builder, Mike went with us to buy fencing, stakes and wire to lash it all down. We spent a beautiful crisp fall Saturday afternoon creating a twenty feet by twenty feet dog run for our two guide dogs, Ritchie and Zena, and our retired guide dog Quincey. The three dogs watched with curiosity as we pounded stakes into the mud, attached the fencing and piled stones around the outside at the bottom to keep them from tunneling into the glorious mud playground. Our new neighbour was so impressed with our feat that he came over with a flood light, so that the three dog night visits to the dog run would have illumination. Now the dogs can relax free in the great outdoors. Gone are the hours in the rain in the front yard taking them each out four times a day.
Life on the frontier is getting easier now. We are back at work. Lots of challenges are still ahead as we carve out our home for our retirement. Elsie and Mike have made a difference. Their tasteful and unobtrusive support has facilitated our independence and integration into the community. They are now friends whose visits are anticipated with pleasure.