VISIONS OF A BLIND WOMAN

Can you see the forest through the trees? Sometimes, I get stuck in those damned trees! For the longest time, my blindness was my obstacle and my total focus in life...and I didn't move forward! I got stuck there! It is when the healing takes hold that the obstacle begins to shrink and we can switch our focus to the path before us... Happy Holidays everyone! Reach out! [email protected]

Sometimes, on our journey, we have set-backs. The pain of our early steps is awakened for some reason and we feel it all over again...The key is DON"T GET STUCK THERE! Keep moving forward! I have to tell myself that...keep moving forward, Renee. Reach [email protected]

I kid you not! I woke up today and found myself right back where I started 10 years ago, almost to the month, only this time, I'm on the other side! I come armed with the tools I have picked up on my own journey and I have become the hand reaching out to those who are stumbling in the dark, fearful and angry! What a trip, right?! I hope you enjoy this episode! Please reach out: [email protected] Check out my Facebook page, Visions of a Blind Woman! https://www.facebook.com/ValdezRF3/ Look for me on Instagram, Visions of a Blind Woman! https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en

Hey Everyone! I've been busy! Fashion shows! Conventions! AND...Always learning and connecting! Oh! And did I say having a BLAST?! Catch up on what's been going on with me...with my friend Len, and a new friend, Amber! All great stuff you won't want to miss! And...for Heaven's sake...follow me on Spotify, already! Ha, ha! Reach out! [email protected] As promised, here is a link to my debut on the red carpet! Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10211809719195829&set=a.1283237098428 ...And a wonderful video of the Dose of Fashion Fashion Show! https://www.facebook.com/1755121666/videos/310419448515843/

Remember when Dorothy crashed down in the land of Oz and all she had to do to return home was click her heels together and say, "There's no place like home..."? I wonder if it works that way with dealing with loss? Sounds easy...is it? Tune in and listen to my thoughts on this subject. I would love to know what you think. Email me at [email protected] Visit Visions of a Blind Woman Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ValdezRF3 I appreciate your support!

So excited about my conversation with Christy and Sharon, the life behind 2GIRLSINAPOD Podcast! They bring their expertise, spirit, compassion and humor to those of us dealing with some kind of devastating change or challenge in our lives. Please check out their podcast! You will love it! https://2girlsinapod.com/ Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066705493939 And find ME at [email protected]

After 10 years of living with blindness, I am finally moving forward and sharing what I've learned with others! There is still so much to learn and experience, but I know now that my life will be what I make it, and I will make it GREAT! I want anyone and everyone who is newly blind or losing their eyesight to know that too! Reach out: [email protected] Remember to follow me on Spotify! KEEP THE FAITH!

Mountain air! Zero oxygen! Ha, ha! I visited my home state of Colorado and enjoyed my family and friends and great food...and learned a few things about patience and resilience! Sometimes, this blindness thing can be a pain...but I'm adjusting! Oh! I was interviewed by Chris Lopez of the Alamosa Citizen, an online news source for the San Luis Valley! Check out my article here: https://www.alamosacitizen.com/envisioning-a-new-life/ And...let me hear from you! Email me at [email protected] Follow me on Spotify!

Volume 12 of Visions of a Blind Woman Podcast is dedicated to the people of Maui, Hawaii...With love. I am saddened by the enormity of loss and pain the people of Maui are going through now, left behind by Hurricane Dora and the total destruction of the fires that followed. Their healing will not be easy. Please send your thoughts and prayers and help if you can... [email protected]

Sometimes we want to control every damned thing! Life, and death, happen in their own rhythm and pace, as does healing from loss and change. In this episode, I fill you in on my follow-up with Len, and I tell you about some things I learned from being interviewed on a podcast...Stella's podcast! Yes! Look at me! I'm GROWING! Hee, hee! Please look for Stella's podcast, LX2 Codependency Coaching, and hear our interview! Here's the link on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EE9Xa0ku2BYfKEavQCCnm?si=-y_K1BxpR4iA06e8GR9h8g And, reach out to me! [email protected]

We can learn from our challenges and our grief...Really. We can find meaning in our trials...eventually. In this episode, I share a few lessons I've learned in the last ten years of adjusting to blindness, and I remain open to the lessons yet to come. I hope you will tune in. Reach out: [email protected]

I dedicate this episode to Len... Really!? You're asking me to find meaning in despair? Well...yes. Sounds a little crazy, right? In this episode, I will tell you about one of the most painful parts of my journey...losing my career, as I knew it. And. even bigger than that, accepting and finding meaning in an altered life...mine! Everything happens for a reason and a purpose. I want you to find your reason and your purpose...I'm looking frantically for mine! (SMILE!) Send me an email! [email protected]

It takes courage to stay awake in our lives...especially when things are not going so well, like when we experience loss or heartache or pain! If we can power through those tough times, the lessons we learn will serve to make us stronger for the days to come. Sounds cliché, I know. When I lost my eyesight, I wanted to roll over and press snooze! EVERYDAY! We have to make the choice to power through, even when it is hard...In this episode, I talk about building resilience, and...I even sing! YIKES! My enail: [email protected] I want to hear from you!

Enchilada?! What is she talking about! Just like the world's most perfect creation, the Enchilada, so was my toolbox of skills created! There are many loving hands and hearts involved in making me the person I am...strong, RESILIENT, passionate, a pinch of spicy and a lot of joy...and it is those gifts I have gathered along my timeline that have helped me most when I have been faced with challenges, like going blind! We all have many, many gifts that we can tap into to help us along the way...you just have to uncover and embrace them! They're there! I'm out here if you need a shoulder or a laugh... [email protected]

Looking for a great book to read this summer? Allow me to highly recommend "JUST HUMAN: THE QUEST FOR DISABILITY WISDOM, RESPECT, AND INCLUSION", written by Dr. Arielle Silverman. Dr. Silverman sat for an interview with me and shares excerpts from her book, as well as her unique perspectives on blindness and life in general! I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed my conversation with this talented author! You can find her book on her website, Disability Wisdom https://www.disabilitywisdom.com/just-human-book/

I know! I know! Legislative advocacy may sound boring...BUT IT ISN'T! And...this interview with Deepa Goraya, Esq. is not only about the joys of advocacy! It is about her experience as a successful woman who is blind, her challenges as a young student in elementary and secondary schools, and then, meeting the challenges of college and law school head on, preparing her for her successful future as an attorney in Washington, D. C. I hope you gain as much as I did from her story!

I'm talking to three FANTABULOUS students, two have just graduated from high school, Ally Kelso, & Bella Teta, and one, Jacob Ryan Ham, is in his second year in college, attending George Mason University. I wanted to know their personal stories about their own journey in blindness, and the challenges they may have faced as students in our education system. They do not disappoint! These teens are plugged in! All serve in the leadership of the Virginia Association of Blind Students. they are mentors to younger children, and, they even have some really great advice for people who are newly blind or losing their eyesight! Sit back, grab that bag of chips, and enjoy!

Dilemma: Am I blind enough to be considered blind? HUH? As humans, we tend to think in absolutes, either, or, yes or no. Blindness doesn't work that way. We can't fit it into our neat little box and put it on the shelf, in alphabetical order, labelled and nicely quantified! Blindness comes in many shades...of grey, usually! So, when you see someone you think is blind, keep that in mind. They might be able to see that silly expression on your face! Ha, ha! Hope you enjoy this episode! FOLLOW ME, ALREADY!

I want my 2nd volume of Visions of a Blind Woman to be strong and informative! I want to take you through a different experience from my own, and leave you with a sense that blindness is a very different phenomenon for different people who have, or are, experiencing it. It is not a death sentence as I once thought! EVELYN VALDEZ is an open book! She shares her own introduction to blindness, her mixed feelings about being blind, and her emergence into the successful woman she has become. Evelyn is celebrating 10 years in her work with the United States Government, Office of Vetereans Affares! In her spare time, (wink, wink!) she gives so much of herself to her volunteer work with the National Federation of the Blnd of Virginia, as well as to our National Movement out of Baltimore, MD. She is the President of the Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia and is known (and loved) for the unique and creative programming she orchestrates, and affecionately hands down to her Board, despite their not-so-subtle messages of "You've got to be kidding me!" Evelyn serves as a mentor in Project RISE, modeling for young people that their only limits are the ones they create for themselves. If you can dream it, you can achieve it! At the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia State Convention last October, 2022, Evelyn was awarded the Seville Allen Award for her tireless devotion and commitment to the service of making life better, richer, and more accessible for blind people in Virginia and beyond, something she does with incredible style and grace! It is with great pride that I introduce to you Ms. Evelyn Valdez...

Learn how I suddenly lost my eyesight at 48 years old and how that loss affected my life. Learning to be blind and live in a sighted world is no joke! I'll tell you about my extreme lows and how I started to move out of those low spots. I hope you will identify with and enjoy my story and reach out to me to share yours. I know there are people out there, in the prime of their lives, who are losing their eyesight to disease or injury or whatever. This podcast is for you!