Constantly learning new and challenging material…
Reading good books, memory journals, diaries, family history, biography, autobiography, the “memory jar,” the joke collection, reviewing photo albums. Making music together, listening to music and/or viewing music performances on PBS or DVD. . . plus our Saturday night line-up for “Showtime!”
One of our greatest music pleasures was in constantly learning new and challenging material singing together at the piano. Over the years together, I never ceased to be amazed at how quickly Mother learned new music. This being one of our Real Life Pleasures, we were frequently prompted to dive into more new material during our daily music-making at the keyboard. Our repertoire grew rapidly and we had literally hundreds of favorites – all marked with red tags – to open quickly to all the great music in our collection.
Not just any library…
Some favorite books lined these shelves, some of which were authored by Beautiful Voice Influencers. It’s a library which gradually grew in volume – as writers who have influenced dementia care penned their transformative books over the last 2-3 decades. This collection will have special meaning for those who have followed the movement from conventional, biomedical dementia care to more humanistic ways of caring – and for those who are becoming part of the change movement. More…
Showtime!
Our film viewing included “Showtime!” – a Saturday night line-up of films from the neighborhood video store. With popcorn, of course. Music performances on PBS or DVD were daily events. More…
Literary Companionship
For lack of a more appropriate title, we were in search of candidates for a “Literary Companion” role. We found care partners who had an appreciation not only for good literature but also the ability to sing with Mother and play the piano and other instruments. For a period of time, three to five two-hour sessions per week suited us well.
It was Companionship-With-a-Difference. An extraordinary difference.
Journaling Benefits
“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.” John and Patrice Robson have compiled, shared, and given permission for us to post in full the list of “100 Journaling Benefits.” John’s statement identifies a key benefit of journaling – “a voyage to the interior”! More…
Memory Journals
Why I Journaled
On both a personal and professional level, journaling is a powerful tool which can be life-changing. Why did I journal? This post describes the phases involved in keeping the Memory Journals for my parents over a ten-year period. More…
Author’s Note: During a period of time when we had caregiver assistance only in the morning hours, Mother would bring her reading material to where I was working – to read with the afternoon sun streaming over her shoulders. This unstaged photo captured her essence in a moment when I just happened to turn – to find her apparent enjoyment of a story in one of her church publications, The Mennonite.
She may have found news about a relative, a college friend, someone she knew locally, or an international event which brought her enjoyment. She would frequently cut out the article and underline key points with her red ink pen, a carryover from teaching days.