Part of who I am-Mrs. B

My life before marriage:

I have NO ONE Deaf in my family (excluding my husband, of course!)—the only people who use hearing aids are the ones who are older and need it to hear better.  Everyone else is just like me.  I did not grow up knowing anyone Deaf.  I was exposed to the manual alphabet growing up and thought it fun to fingerspell words to a friend in seminary.  That’s as far as it went for me…until college.

I went to college in another state—far enough away from my family to be feeling lonely and overwhelmed with adult life after high school.  I had called my mom prior to registering for classes and asked her what I should major in—my only sister had taken a sign class at Rick’s College and was wanting to major in Deaf education.   So, my mom suggested I major in the same thing.  In my freshman mind I thought that was great!  Now, understand my background a little—I grew up in a musical family; my mother played the flute, piccolo, piano and organ; my only sister played the flute and piccolo as well, and probably some piano; my oldest brother played the clarinet and the French horn as well as the electric bass guitar in jazz band; my second oldest brother played the trumpet and the French horn; I played the flute and piccolo and the electric bass guitar in jazz band as well as a bit of piano my senior year in high school (which I’m not proficient at and I regret not practicing and keeping that skill up!); and my youngest brother played the clarinet and alto saxophone in jazz band; even my father played the flute in college!  So, I find it rather an oxymoron that I am now in a “Deaf” world, where my musical skills really are not put to any good use!  Haha!  Perhaps I was looking for a challenge?  Or maybe something different?  But no misunderstanding-I love my music!