What are husbands for?

I’m in a mood at the moment. I do get like this sometimes. I am fed up starting every interaction with a human being with ‘I am deaf, but I will try and read your lips.’ First of all I hate repeating I am deaf all day and secondly I’m fed up with the reaction; startled, moving into self-conscious, forcing themselves not to cover their lips and the quick (is there anyone watching and will I make a mistake) darting around of the eyes.

For a hearing person to get the idea of what I am talking about, it’s like having to state your religion or other belief and asking the person to carry out the rituals connected with it; imagine being a Buddhist and not only having to state you are one, but having to get the person you are talking to join you in your meditation or chanting before you talk to them?

Friday I went shopping with my husband, I also took him to the dentist to book a checkup for us all and to the hairdresser to book an appointment for the boys. As we were driving home I could see he was pouting a bit and asked why.

‘You are using me’ he said, teasing. According to him, he had spent all day telling people I was deaf because they kept speaking to me and I didn’t react and then there was the dentist and the hairdresser … And I was just chilling. He is right, but it was so nice to take a break.