I'm grateful to have a hearing loss! 35 Things to be thankful for...

If you're on Facebook, you've noticed people doing the 7 day gratitude challenge, where they list 3 things they're grateful for in their lives. I naturally did this challenge, as it aligned perfectly with my goal of be positive in my last year of my 20's. 

This gratitude challenge will focus on being a hard of hearing person/mommy. :) In no particular order:

Always smiling! A happy baby makes for a happy mommy!

1. For the Internet/Facebook - because it allows me to keep in touch with the world through visual cues and the written word. 
2. For Closed Captioning. Need I say more?
3. For Netflix with Closed Captioning - thank you for whoever thought of that. You have my praise. Best $8 spent each month.
4. Living in an era where Cochlear Implants are more readily available. A little more than 30 years ago, they just came came out and I didn't qualify because I heard "too well" (really???).
5. For the Foscam Camera and TinyCam Monitor App. You allow me to sleep at night!
6. For Fenugreek, Domperidone, and Breastpumps to allow me to produce milk. (Seriously, it's a hereditary problem in my case)
7. For WhatsApp - this is how I talk to hubby most of the time (especially when in the bathroom.)
8. For intelligent people - I'd be living a nightmare if everyone actually assumed hard of hearing people couldn't do the things 'normal' people do.
9. For Europeans (yes, Europeans) - they actually LOVE people with disabilities, so much that in London, we were able to bypass a 3 hour lineup to go on the London Eye! (next time I go to the Vatican, I'm going to request a private tour)
10. For having a hearing loss, because I can claim disability tax credit (got to milk it out of our government!)
11. Knowing a few good people who know sign language. It REALLY helps to know some bad words without ever having to say them.
12. For Doctor Who: without this show, I don't know if my husband and I would ever have gotten together. ;) (totally related to being a mommy, because that's part of the butterfly effect)
13. For Dri-Aids. They preserve the longevity of my CI and in the process saving me thousands of dollars.
14. For the ability to figure out what my daughter needs/wants. If I didn't have this instinct, I'd be screwed.
15. For free disposable batteries. Send them my way - they are like my energizer bunny, without them, I can't hear.
16. For peace and silence when I need a moment. Especially during Rachel's screaming fits when training her to self soothe.
17. For vaccines developed to fight against rubella and meningitis, two big bugs that led to our hearing loss (I'll save that story for another time)
18. For my parents, they've been there for me through thick and thin. Not joking.
19. For itinerant teachers. Without them, I don't think I would be able to speak (even if not well...)
20. For my five senses. At nighttime, I am completely, totally reliant on my eyes to figure out what Rachel needs. (I'm not about to wake my brain up by putting on my CI).
21. For having a hearing loss. It filters the people who God wants and doesn't want to be in my life. Au revior shallow/fair-weather people.
22. Having the ability to conceive. There are so many people out there who are having trouble, and I think of them always.
23. Being able to use the excuse "I didn't hear that". Totally gets me out of trouble, even if it was my fault.
24. Being able to use the excuse "I had no idea". Valid as it is, we HOHs do miss out on a lot of information in life, especially if it isn't written down somewhere.
25. Being able to ignore comments or suggestions that come unsolicited. Ta Da! I can let people think I live in my own bubble.
26. It's always amusing to see airport screening guards (especially in foreign countries) handle your CI as if it was a bomb (again, another story for later... this one takes place in Turkey)
27. Getting through airport screens faster, now that we have a baby. We actually qualify for the family AND disability aisle.
28. For Body Checks. How fun! Better to get them than to get your CI fried by their screening machines.
29. For flights that offer English Subtitles for foreign films. Makes the flight go by faster!
30. For books. I love books, even if I don't have enough time to read them. (Though magazines read in the bathroom is now the norm...). It is my escape from being a HOH and a mommy, even if for a few minutes.
31. UTorrent. I know. I know. This is a grey area. But seriously - this keeps us in touch with all the awesome TV shows we watch. The Last Ship. Helix. Under the Dome. So much more...(and can't forget Game of Thrones)
32. Subscene. Subtitles alert! :D For all those shows we watch.
33. For Alcohol. When I have the occasional drink, it makes everything sound so much better.
34. Febreze. The poopy smell goes away as soon as I squirt this stuff. They say that when you lose one sense, your other senses are heightened.
35. For my family. They accept me for who I am. Imperfections and all.

There we go. I hope you enjoyed that.  Here's a few snapshots of some more things that I'm thankful for:

Living in Beautiful Victoria, BC!

Sunsets, especially one as amazing as this one!

 

My love (this was taken when we were still dating)