Lily had a number of new sport experiences this summer including softball and horseback riding.
In softball, Lily liked hitting the best and was very good at it, but thought fielding was a bit boring. She likes action. It was fun to see her progression through the summer. Fortunately her primary coach was the husband of her first-grade teacher, so I'm sure he'd already received lots of lessons in hearing. :)
We watched carefully how hearing impacted the game. Certainly Lily had to watch and listen to the coaches more carefully, and I'm not sure if she could always tell where the ball was hit or caught based on the sound of the bat or ball hitting the gloves. Such small sounds in such large spaces. We didn't use the FM for softball, but if this was the pros, we'd definitely consider it.
Horseback riding was a a wonderful experience as well. Lily was ready to be "unleashed" on day two, although the teachers had other ideas. The riding was slow and gentle, with lots of confidence building time. While the farm was fairly quiet, it was challenging for me to educate the young teachers on the fly.
On the last day, one of the Moms of the other students came over to me and said I see Lily has Cochlear Implants. Instantly I wondered what her connection with the "hearing" world was. She pulled her hair back and said, "I have one too. I was implanted after college and have had it about 15 years." While I was amazed, Lily thought it was only mildly interesting. Having CIs doesn't seem that unusual to her.
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