Days 6 and 7: More of the Same

For those of you following this blog, as I hope many of you are, I apologize for the lack of activity for the past 36 hours or so. There are several reasons for this, but mostly it comes down to a lack of new material about which to post. And therein lies the interesting realization at which I am going to write.

Being Deaf has become normal to me.  I never thought I would get to this point.  And I most certainly did not expect to get to this point at any time during this week.  But I have pretty much learned in the course of five short days, to exist in a society in which I am unable to use traditional means of communication.  I no longer get flustered when people try to ask me questions that I can't hear - I have become quite accustomed to calmly signing, "Sorry, I'm Deaf." I no longer have to wonder how I'm going to order food or coffee - I simply write it down and hand the cashier or waitress a means of payment. If they don't understand, I supplement this not-so-subtle hint by signing something to them along the lines of the aforementioned "Sorry, I'm Deaf."

As I get ready to head home shortly on my last day of Deafness, I am finding myself anticipating tomorrow morning when I will re-enter the hearing world. I find myself now wondering things like; what kind of subtle sounds am I going to notice for the first time? Is the world going to seem oppressively loud now? How much easier is being in the hearing world going to be now that I've been Deaf within it for a week? Will I have a changed outlook on the rest of the world now?

I can't wait to find out what the answers to these questions are! I certainly plan to keep you posted, so make sure to check tomorrow evening for the answers to all those questions (and more)!