it's been months since i went with mom to her friday happy hour. i used to take her every week, but now the staff takes just about all of the memory unit residents. i'm glad i went today. they had chicken salad sandwich quarters for snacks! 
besides, i thought the entertainer was interesting.
as we were leaving, mom typically started to turn the wrong way and i tried to steer her back on course. she said, "but i want to thank him for coming." that's very unlike her. i guess she thought he was "interesting", too.
turns out he was called at the last minute when the scheduled performer called in sick, and i mean that literally. he got the call 30 minutes before show time. he told us he also teaches painting at VT on saturdays and preaches on sundays at various places and is the best husband in the world because he always says "yes dear." did i mention he's kinda sorta funny?
as we walked out mom turned to me and said, "not a very good singer was he?"
true. but he was enthusiastic. and mom smiled and clapped and thoroughly enjoyed herself. he mostly sang what i call show tunes to canned music. cabaret, new york new york, exodus, south pacific, several from the sound of music that mom obviously recognized, it's a grand old flag, ain't she sweet...mom did her spontaneous hand-tapping-boogie to that one.my favorites were a couple of al jolson tunes he sang a capella. i think they were mom's favorites, too. i could see her grin from behind.
10 comments:
i'll bet vt has top-ten quality chicken salad!
not really. i think it's probably from an industrial sized can.
but it works for me! to quote patrick henry, or some old guy, "give me chicken salad or give me death."
So where does it rank on your quest? Somewhere above the very bottom?
With Mom it's polka that will get her feet tapping and hands clapping. Sometimes even a little sashay of her hips.
nowhere near the bottom. i'd say out of the...347 i've had...it's somewhere around 159th.
has your mom ever heard Brave Combo? she might dig it. i know you would.
This is what my mum is missing out on, with her all encompassing distrust and fear of care homes. She would rather live a lonely, lone life with only her disappointing daughter to look after her. And this is probably how it will stay, until/if she slips into dementia too, by which time will she appreciate an improved quality of life or just be bewildered by the unfamiliarity of it all?
over here there are 2 basic classes of "care homes." the gov't will pay if a "nursing home" is required, but they have notoriously bad reputations. the "retirement" type facility my mom lives in is very expensive and IF one is going to move to such a place, i personally recommend doing so while it can still be enjoyed.
I wish mom could go to one of the adult daycares around here a few hours a week. She needs something to take her out of herself and people her age to interact with. But due to her back problems she can't sit up for long or move around much so that knocks that. It's getting harder and harder to get her to participate in anything anymore.
Enjoy those times with your mom.
j, you're right. i need to constantly remind myself to find "those times" to enjoy with her even though she doesn't remember them a 1/2 hour later...we visit every day, but it's not the same. we're both pretty boring.
You're a fabulous Son, Rick. Even though you pretend to be a hard A$$. I'm not buying it. I will take more videos of my Mom @ the "Y" or Line-Dancing, which I must say, is very impressive for someone with AD.
I was just told she was 'fired' from playing duplicate bridge, with a pretty rough crowd, so I will try to find someone nicer & closer, so she can continue to play. She LOVES bridge!
I'm going on Nov 21st- Dec 2nd.
Brave combo!
Nuclear Polka!
As i passed the McDavid Studio in Fort Worth, I saw they are playing there soon!
yes, December 12!
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