COUPLES

GLENN: I have a rare genetic disorder, targardts, that started in puberty. ack then, it was hard to get a diagnosis. ne doctor told Mum he thought I was pretending to have bad vision because I wanted to wear glasses like my friends! Mum finally took me to a specialist who figured out what it was.

I probably should have a guide dog or carry a cane but I manage okay. I can’t drive but I love cars, so that’s been hard.

I’d been single for a while when I met Della. he was bubbly, fun and energetic and had a great attitude to life. I was able to see enough to know that she’s also beautiful. I was intrigued by her from the start.

We’re very different, but Della taught me martial arts and I come from a fishing family so I took her out on the boat and water skiing.

I didn’t really want to move to Wellington but it worked out well in the end as I signed up for a degree too. It was fun living together but we had ero money so that was a bit of a struggle.

We’re both from traditional families so I proposed on riental ay beach. Mum came to Wellington to help me pick the ring.

ur lives are busy. We both work full time and Della helps with the business, doing the accounts and bookings and event-managing the student concerts.

ur relationship can sometimes take a back seat. ur goal is to open our own purpose-built music school in thene tthreeyearssothat’swhyweworksohard.

Della has to do all the driving which can be hard on her. o I try to help out in other ways. My memory and sense of place is pretty good it’s like having a

G in my head so I help with directions. I also do lots of cooking and baking.

Della is kind, thoughtful and caring towards people in all situations. he also tries not to stress or let others’ dramas drag her down. he’s incredibly hard-working she sets the pace and I try to keep up!

I know it’s a clich but the secret to our relationship is happywife,happylife .Idomybesttomakethings runsmoothlyanddothethingsDellae pects.

It blows my mind how far we’ve come from our university days where we’d often have $1 left at the end of the week. We have a house, a business and life is so much more stable. I would never have achieved half of what I’ve done without Della she’s a ma or part of our success.

Della Offord, 32, is the marketing manager of Spy Valley Wines. Her husband Glenn Offord, 34, is legally blind and works as a music educator, teaching guitar, drums and digital music at the couple’s Six Strings Music Academy. They have two children, Leo, 9 and 6-year-old daughter Lexi and live in Blenheim.

DELLA: I was 17 when I met Glenn at a martial arts club. I knew his brother but Glenn was at boarding schoolinMastertonsoIonlymethimwhenhe oined the club. I was immediately attracted to him because hewasolderthanmeandwase actlymytype tall and dark with beautiful olive skin. lus I’ve always had a thing for musicians. s soon as I saw Glenn, I knew I wanted to get to know him.

e told me about starting to lose his sight when he was 12. Glenn now only has 5 per cent vision and can make out colours and outlines but no details. I was so impressed with how outgoing and capable he was he played basketball and did whatever interested him.

Glenn was running his parents surf shop and needed helpattheweekendssoaskedifIwanteda ob.It’s how we got to know each other.

I was moving to Wellington to do a commerce degree but Glenn didn’t want to leave lenheim. When he saw I was going, he agreed to come. t the open day, he checked out the music department and signed up for a music degree.

Glenn is super enthusiastic and hard-working. e’s also determined and never lets his blindness get in the way. tuni,hewouldscaneachpageofhiste tbook and transfer that into technology so it could be read back to him. nd he organised his own reader writers fore ams. ormanypeople,thatwouldbeinthe too hard basket but not for Glenn.

e also goes above and beyond at home, doing lots of cooking. ur son eo will read the recipe out for him. e can, however, be a bit of a messy cook.

Glenn is so capable that often people don’t notice his blindness. e runs his music lessons by ear because he can’t see his students’ fingers on the guitar strings.

ut he never complains about how hard things are. e has a nice way of making it work.

We’re both pretty fiery and determined so we’ve had fallouts over the years. ut we’ve learned patience and to pick our battles. hings that used to annoy me don’tfa emenow.

We hadn’t planned to have kids so early but had a bit of a whoopsie! I was si months pregnant when we got married and my father surprised me with a helicopter ride to the wedding. ut a few minutes into the 10-minute flight, the door of the helicopter flew open and my veil and dress were being sucked out! Dad had to hold onto the door for the rest of the flight.