Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, mirror, who is like me?



Over the weekend we went to Indiana for the RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) conference.  Their mantra during the conference was DOABLE.  Short for doable action.

I participated as a panelist for their community forum with the word "doable" in the back of my mind.  We, a diverse group of panelists, Deaf, hearing, CODA, parents, teachers, interpreters, sat together for four hours sharing our thoughts on three open-ended questions pertaining to the preservation of American Sign Language.  We talked of human rights, linguistic rights.  A panelist shed tears when she talked about not being accepted.  Sitting there in front of hundreds of people I could not help but feel relief.

This was my ASL mirror.  It is not often I get to sit with people who share common experiences, joys, fears and frustrations living life as a linguistic minority.  I felt as if it had been some time I got to peer into this mirror and even though what I saw was far from perfect, what I saw was human.

When the forum wrapped, I took a good long look at my Deaf Mama of a Deaf Child mirror.  I talked with another panelist about the tribulations and triumphs of finding the right school for her Deaf daughter.  I met another set of parents who have two Deaf sons who are very articulate and intelligent.  One of their sons is the subject of The Audacity to Exist.  I saw my reflection once again when we talked about finding playmates, our amazement at their language development (those little grubby fat fingers forming perfect signs!!) and the moments of hesitation when we think, "Did we make the right choice?"

I live in New York City where individualism is holy.  There is no way I can compare myself with other people in my daily life; I don't even want to become a comparison junkie.  I am just glad to be reassured from time to time that there are mirrors out there so I can get a good look at myself.  Call it a reality check.