How did you two meet?

Aloha! Hubby and I returned from our very first trip away from our little girl to the beautiful island of Maui (more on that in another post). It was hard on me at first, but when we saw her on Face Time each day it was as if we had never left. We've been back for a few weeks now, but with Christmas, New Years and currently in the throes of potty training I've finally decided to sit down and write about this experience.

The way back home from Maui was an interesting story that I'd like to share with you all. With a full flight, we didn't get our usual empty seat in the middle - which was fine with me as I love to snuggle up with Curtis, his personal block heater.

Last night in Maui!

At Haleakala Beach

Sitting in the middle seat, I sat next to a lovely lady from Vancouver. We struck up a conversation starting with where we live, what we do (and I naturally talked a LOT about my little girl), and even found out that I'm the same age as her sons. We even talked about pregnancy stuff as she is waiting for her sons to give her some grand babies! Then the million dollar question came up: "How did you two meet?" This question will almost always lead to a hard of hearing advocacy moment in my case.


You see, Curtis and I actually met through the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association back in 2008. We started communicating through the now non-existent MSN messenger a few months prior and a few months later, met in person. Though we don't get into more details than that, most people will ask after how we lost our hearing and how we manage it. For that, I'm thankful we are able to share our hearing loss stories - diverse as they are.

In this particular instance, I told her the same humdrum story that I just wrote, except this was a time when I had a 'partner in crime' in participation. Both of us shared our hearing loss experiences, and I'll never forget it when she said: "I had no idea there were such different types of hearing loss!". My hearing is way, way, worse than Curtis' - let's just say that I'm the one more likely to say Huh? What's that? Scuse me? in our relationship. It probably drives Curtis up the wall but at least he gets why I do it.

Next time you meet someone with a hearing loss, don't hesitate to ask them how they've managed with their hearing loss. It's great to share our stories!