Twice when we lived in Lexington our choir visited Carleton-Willard, a continuing care facility in Bedford Ma, during the Christmas holidays. Our accompanist worked there part time doing programming for them and invited his wife, our choir director, to bring us along to sing Christmas carols.
Clearly the residents loved Jeffrey and perked up when he spoke to them. We sang in two common areas and mostly Christmas carols, although because we are Unitarian Universalist, I think we also sang a Hanukkah song or two.
While we were visiting the dementia unit, it was so fun to watch the residents sing along with us. We had extra song packets and handed them out to some to encourage them to sing along with us. One woman sang along with us, holding the music up side down.
Again, music is so important to our lives, and one can only hope that we tapped into holiday memories for them. One couple we were singing with ran into a relative there, and another singer fondly remembered when her mother was alive. In fact, some of the aides greeted her warmly, with hugs, and fond memories of her mother.
Since we have moved to Burlington, I miss these visits, which were a highlight of my holiday. Need to find a way to go sing in some facilities up here.
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