Monday, March 1, 2021

Rosaries, rosaries, everywhere

 What worked: 

Loletta with the image

Repetition seemed soothing for Catholics (those who went to Catholic school) 


What didn't work: 

Chris recounting story of older nun who when asked if she wanted to do the rosary said, "No way, that thing is too damn long." 



What made us laugh: 

Hilda Colflesh Hippie Rosary: Bev,  "Don't forget to help her, hers is on her head"

You can't put some things back together again

You can’t put some things back together again


It was like we were in a snowglobe that night

The night we went to sing Christmas carols to Gigi

Oh, I love my Gigi

And snow

And Christmas time


When we got to the building where Gigi lives, I ran up to her window 

Gigi was in her wheelchair with her mask 

I could see her smiling eyes; she waved and blew me a kiss

I’m tired of no hugs from Gigi; no one knows when the hugs will return


The grown ups gathered around her window, chattering and taking photos

Sister and I began to run around in the snow

We threw some snowballs at each other; sister threw snowballs at the grown ups

Uncle Joe knocked a tree branch that dropped a mountain of snow on us

Then I began to make a snowman. 

I rolled the body, pushing the round cold ball across the lawn

I carefully set it up in front of Gigi’s window

I rolled the next one--sister joined me as we rolled the last one, the head.


The grown ups and some ladies at the building were singing carols while we worked

We finished the snowman’s perfect shape

Uncle Joe gave me jingle bells for the eyes 

One of the ladies from the building added her light up necklace to the snowman.

She said that Gigi would love having this snowman as her company when we had to go

My parents took pictures of me and sister with our light-up necklace snowman

I was starting to feel cold and tired 

but I was proud that I had made such a gift for Gigi


And then it happened

Sister knocked over the snowman, the middle and the head

I ran and threw myself crying into my mother’s thick winter coat-- angry, sad, confused

Someone was saying, “It was an accident”

The lady from the building ran in and re-rolled the snowman, 

Trying to fix my snowman with a quick, lumpy ball that was too big for the head,

Trying to help by saying, “not perfect, but it will do; Gigi will still love it"

But she didn’t understand

Nobody there understood

There are some things you can’t put back together again


Now I know in part what care for dementia looks like

 I return to this platform with hopes to record some of my lessons along the way before things become too familiar to remember they were once foreign. 

My education background: