Thankfulness

I'm not going to lie, I've been just the tiniest bit crabby lately. I do my best not to let anyone know, but I've certainly noticed that I'm a bit more hasty to use my car horn, a bit more likely to swear to my garage door's face, and a bit less patient when my piano students insist that I clearly cannot read music and that they are, in fact, playing the correct note. I'm not sure quite where this is coming from, although I'm sure it has something to with adjustment to the realization that work never ends. You don't get a two week break at Christmas, you don't finish at the end of the semester and get a fresh start the following year, and you don't get to call in sick when you REALLY don't want to work the day after Thanksgiving. Since 95% of the people who are older than me have made this adjustment and somehow survived, I am quite certain that I, too, can do it.

My job has suddenly become very exhausting over the past 3 weeks. This just happens to coincide with the time that maintenance decided that it was winter and turned the heat up to a balmy 87 degrees inside the building. Has anyone ever noticed the tendency that a warm room has to make a person want to curl up and go to sleep? Well, double that tendency to fall asleep with each decade a person been alive and arrive at my roomful of drowsy 70-90 year-olds who I am trying to engage in music therapy and therapeutic recreation. I feel like a Professor of Quantum Physics perpetually in front of her 8 a.m. class. "Come on people, give me a smile, a nod, ANYTHING to show me that I am not completely failing to engage you on any level!" Hopefully this is just a phase and people will wake up once they assimilate to the new tropical climate.

However tiring my job may be, I am thankful for my residents and the things I am learning from them every day. Some of their wisdom is a bit questionable. For example, I consulted my friend in medical school the other day and was assured that white foods such as "milk, very well done pork, and ice cream" do not in fact fill in missing part of one's brain after a partial lobotomy. I never should have bought that, considering that the same individual also erroneously believes he is suffering from syphilis and ghonnorea of the nose and armpit. I have another resident who believes that the next president is a man named Hal who is currently living in her condo in Phoenix. I'm sure I'll be rightfully put in my place when Hal is elected to run our country.

However, some of the things that come out of the most confused residents' mouths are astounding. I have one man who constantly follows almost everyone in the building around, with tears in his eyes, and says things like, "Honey, we love you. And we just want to say thank you. Because we love you, and you've always been good to us. And you're the queen of the house. And the good Lord loves you, and me too. And I believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And to the republic for which it stands, and the United States Marine Corps. Amen." It is believed that as dementia strips memory and judgement, the things that remain are the things that are the most over-learned. Knowing this, I have to believe that sometime in his life, this man had it right. His complete devotion and love for the people around him are apparent from his effusive monologues, and his over-the-top thankfulness for something as simple as handing him a Kleenex or a cup of coffee is something that always makes me smile. He told me the other day as I was trying to awaken people long enough to to do at least 30 seconds of exercise, "You're the prettiest girl in the room. And you have the good Lord in your pocket, try to keep him there." Hmm.

I can only hope that when I get old and some punk 25 year old is trying to get me to sing along with her, they will learn something from an old woman who is grateful for all that she has had in her life. Because I have alot to be thankful for. I have the most amazing and goofy family that I could ask for, friends who can make me laugh even on the days I am swearing at the garage door, and so many more blessings that I don't even want to go into for fear of getting too sappy. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and thank you all for being part of my life!