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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

The Magic of Music Revisited for Pandemic Holidays

Many caregivers, myself included, have written about how music touches some mysterious joy button down deep in our hearts. When I visited my dad in the Alzheimer's wing and pressed TAPE PLAY on his little boom box, he'd snap from a slumping senior to a baton-waving conductor. The nursing home's piano gets lots of use, and singalongs are well-attended and enjoyed. For years now, my mom has most successfully fallen asleep to CDs of soft music. My day's anxieties also drift off most peacefully to music CDs.

Recently, a friend invited me to "attend" a Chicago Symphony Christmas concert online "with" her and then discuss it afterward in a FaceTime call. We really enjoyed talking about various numbers and voices and selections. This particular offering is a Christmas tradition for my friend, and I felt honored to share it with her this year. 

This week I watched a Piano Guys Christmas concert YouTube on my computer. One guest singer's tenor voice captivated me, and I have since shared various YouTubes of his songs with one friend and my mother. I know they both enjoy tenor singing.

So, Hanukkah is here and Christmas is ten days away. Do I have a Christmas gift for my mom yet? No. Do I have any clue what to get a 100-year-old? No. What about an experiential music gift? What if I asked her what music she really enjoyed from past decades, found a YouTube or audio recording online, prearranged when we listen, she in the nursing home and I in my home, and then we talked on the phone about it? Maybe beforehand I could drop off a special snack and beverage at the home so that she and I could make a party of it. 

Lawrence Welk? Andy Williams? Frank Sinatra? Elvis? Perry Como? Doris Day? Maurice Chevalier? Show tunes from old musicals?

I bet Mom would have some great memories to share about whatever music we shared. 


 

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