"Shades" of spring?....

So the sun is finally showing itself and It's warmth is most welcome. As a result of the loss of my driver's license, I am on foot alot of course. Fortunately, we don't live too far but it's all down hill and icy for the most part. My depth perception isn't great anymore so I try to time my walking for the days that there is no fresh snow. I'm grateful to have the option of walking to town for errands and exercise and it enables me to have more independence than I might other wise have. It has been a long wait for ice free sidewalks but we are getting nearer and I have walked to town on a couple of occasions in the last week on days that were brilliant and sunny. Stunning to be exact. The sad fact is that I realized this week that my eyes have become so light sensitive that I am rendered helpless at times...especially when looking up to access where the crosswalk is to cross the street. I watch the ground on every step as I have enough central vision to carefully monitor each step but am unable to look straight ahead without falling, tripping or stumbling. Consequently, when I do look up the sun hits my eyes and I can no longer see..at all. I was stopping at cross walks and could hear the vehicles stopped but couldn't leave the side walk to cross until I could see. I quickly realized I must stop well before the crosswalk as to allow my eyes to adjust and then approach the cross walk to cross the street. Not the end of the world for sure, but the very first time I have felt completely vulnerable on my own...and THAT was unsettling. I am going to have to start using my new cane and may not be able to wait for training. The CNIB is in Prince George and only comes to us so often and I need to stay mobile and active and as independent as possible. I will muster the fortitude to take matters in hand and use the cane to the best of my ability. I have some concerns a bout the amount of attention drawn to me as a result of "going public" with the cane. I don't care at all what anyone "thinks" of me or my need for the cane. I just don't enjoy public attention. We live in a small town and I fear the possibility of spending much of my time trying to explain why I have the cane in the first place....such is my life right now and in the name of independence and an attempt to squash my social anxieties, I will deal with it. There is also the need for proper sun glasses and perhaps hats to shield my face from the blinding glare of what has always been the highlight of my day...the sun...It's what raises my mood, energizes me and beckons me outside at times that I might otherwise have been less active. Now I'm almost hiding from it's blinding effect. Hmmmm...another new change and adjustment. OR..perhaps a fashion statement and opportunity to shed a semblance of pride or vanity...guess it all depends on how I choose to look at it.