Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christmas is truly celebrated at a nursing home.  There are beautifully decorated trees everywhere, all kinds of Santas and Nativity scenes, and most of all there is music.  So many groups come in to perform for the residents, and their musical gifts make the season all the brighter.

Mother loves the music, and she loves to "dance" to it. Her dancing consists mostly of swaying and wiggling her hips. Once in a while she will try a twirl, but that usually leads to her yelling "whoa Nelly!" and having to sit again because she made herself dizzy.

Last week she was very emotional.  A local high school show choir came to sing.  Mother cried loudly through most of the performance.  Her face turned red, the tears flowed, she chewed up her tissue, and she was just beside herself with emotion.  All of those young people singing just swamped her emotional capabilities, but she loved it.  Of course she thought the boys were her grandsons and tried to call out to them.  Those young men were so kind to come to her and hold her hand for a moment.  What amazed me was her ability to collect herself after the program and thank the director for coming to sing.  For that brief second her manners showed through all of her emotion. 

Today I sat with Mother and some of the other residents as they listened to a man play his keyboard and sing.  As I looked at these residents, so diminished from who they once were, their faces beamed, and they did their best to sing along to Away in a Manger and Rockin around the Christmas Tree and Jingle Bells.  They sat together and held hands bringing comfort to each other, and all the while Mother danced around them and was happy.  I think I know why the angels were sent to Bethlehem to sing good news.  Music is the language that reaches us most deeply, and even in the depths of dementia one can sing and rejoice and be happy.  If just for a moment, we can have love and joy.