What will they remember?

Yesterday during my rounds, I was visiting with a man that suffers from advanced dementia.  I like to draw people into the moment with questions that may be easy to answer.  I found a photo of "Bob" and his wife.  Bob was in an army uniform, so we talked a bit about that.  He was a Staff Sargent in WWII.  I asked about his wife.  He was able to tell me her name which was nice.  I had a hunch and asked him if she like to sing.  I watched a light turn on for him.  He told me that she did indeed like to sing.  I asked if she sang around the house.  He got a little cloudy then and said that he didn't remember her singing around the house.  I asked if she sang in a choir.  Bob got a sparkle in his eye, became excited as he found the memory, and told me that she belonged to the church choir and loved to sing.  It was a wonderful moment for both of us. 

Google images

This is one of the many reasons that I love working in hospice.  It puts me in touch with what really matters over and over again.  I left wondering... if my friends and family only had a limited memory, what might they remember about me?  Life is full of little things that leave lasting impressions.  I made a new vow to LIVE, LOVE, and LAUGH more often.  That's what memories are made of.