After years of playing piano for church, I'm branching out. I have started playing for Nursing Homes and Retirement Centers. It has taken some getting used to. And it is hard work, trying to communicate with people who are hard of hearing, sleeping, or off in la-la-land. But then there are others who are as sharp as can be, but maybe physically disabled. There they all are together, a jumble of people in various stages of disintegration. I quickly learn who to smile at, who is "with me". And how fun to see a face light up when they hear "their" song!
One lady asks for "Yellow Bird"--over and over again. Finally I laugh and tell her no more, she's already had it twice. The worse the memory, the less chance of coming up with a request. So I have learned the songs that get a response. World War I and II songs are really popular. "Don't sit under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me." "Over There." "White Cliffs of Dover." And of course, hymns. Very, very few people won't try to sing along on the hymns. My preacher father told me once that there are no atheists in fox holes. I believe there are very few atheists in here either, with death perhaps just around the corner.
I finished one morning at ll:30. The aides started getting folk headed toward the dining room. It's always a bit like the Pied Piper: those who can walk hold onto their frail neighbors; a few can push a wheel chair and help in the slow procession. Then I heard one little lady say to another, "May I walk with you?" Her companion smiled and took her arm. "Of course you can walk with me. I don't know where I'm going, but you can come along!"
Can you imagine life in a fog? Never knowing where your room is, perhaps not even remembering why you live here. There are always signs at the doors warning you not to let someone escape when you leave. And of course the Alzheimer's units are always locked. People want to go home. They might not know where it is, but they know they have one, somewhere. Oh, the joy when they will finally get home, see their loved ones, and know exactly whom they are walking with!
