Memories on Memorial Day
Well IÂm in great company when it comes to singing with Grandma. We sing pretty badly together. However that was not always the case, Grandma had a very nice alto singing voice that I remember and played the organ in the Ransom Church for years. Myself and the other misc.Grandkidss used to pile around her organ when we were young and she would play us a few tunes, and we would get a kick out of pressing the various percussion settings. My favorite was the foxtrot button.
After she retired from organ playing she would sit with us in the pews, and I would pick up on her tone when we sang hymns, because it was hard for me to hit those high notes and scales but she made it seem easy by singing along in harmony.
We moved the organ to Hillcrest with her, but they werenÂt using it much and they wanted to get rid of it. I debated with myself about taking it but the thought of an organ in our house without a trained organ player made me cringe. I lived through ScottyÂs elementary orchestra years (he played the bass, and actually he got really good and I miss those concerts now) but I just wasnÂt up for a budding organist.
For Memorial Day Hillcrest had a special program with some songs, so I knew that she would be up for a couple of tunes. We said the Pledge of Allegiance to which she remembered very well. And it was coherent. Then we sang America the Beautiful and Battle Hymn of the Republic and that was about as far as we got before she got tired.
It's rare to hear her talk in complsentencesnces, so when she sings along with the songs it's a treat to hear her say the words and the melody at the same time. She remembers. At Christmas when Jack Carey (local country singer) came to sing with the group, she chimed right in when White Christmas came on. Gayle and I were in tears. We rarely know what enjoyment she gets out of things, but the one thing we know is that she enjoys music.
My mom told me that the doctor said since her last weigh-in sheÂs lost nine pounds mostly because of her inability to chew her food properly. ItÂs really been hard to get her to eat at times, although IÂve had some success with getting her to drink her milk first to prep her up for more swallowing but the chewing part doesnÂt seem to go well, and she either gets tired of chewing and wonÂt swallow, or wonÂt want to chew altogether but will swallow her milk. This is beyond the getting-the-teeth-in factor that IÂve mentioned before.
They are pureeing her food now so meals should be easier to manage.
Before the Memorial Day program the nurses gave her one of her Health Shakes and she guzzled it right down. The nurse commented that she ate a good breakfast, so who knows half the time. At least sheÂs eating and I havenÂt seen her turn down a chocolate shake yet. Or anything chocolate for that matter!
After she retired from organ playing she would sit with us in the pews, and I would pick up on her tone when we sang hymns, because it was hard for me to hit those high notes and scales but she made it seem easy by singing along in harmony.
We moved the organ to Hillcrest with her, but they werenÂt using it much and they wanted to get rid of it. I debated with myself about taking it but the thought of an organ in our house without a trained organ player made me cringe. I lived through ScottyÂs elementary orchestra years (he played the bass, and actually he got really good and I miss those concerts now) but I just wasnÂt up for a budding organist.
For Memorial Day Hillcrest had a special program with some songs, so I knew that she would be up for a couple of tunes. We said the Pledge of Allegiance to which she remembered very well. And it was coherent. Then we sang America the Beautiful and Battle Hymn of the Republic and that was about as far as we got before she got tired.
It's rare to hear her talk in complsentencesnces, so when she sings along with the songs it's a treat to hear her say the words and the melody at the same time. She remembers. At Christmas when Jack Carey (local country singer) came to sing with the group, she chimed right in when White Christmas came on. Gayle and I were in tears. We rarely know what enjoyment she gets out of things, but the one thing we know is that she enjoys music.
My mom told me that the doctor said since her last weigh-in sheÂs lost nine pounds mostly because of her inability to chew her food properly. ItÂs really been hard to get her to eat at times, although IÂve had some success with getting her to drink her milk first to prep her up for more swallowing but the chewing part doesnÂt seem to go well, and she either gets tired of chewing and wonÂt swallow, or wonÂt want to chew altogether but will swallow her milk. This is beyond the getting-the-teeth-in factor that IÂve mentioned before.
They are pureeing her food now so meals should be easier to manage.
Before the Memorial Day program the nurses gave her one of her Health Shakes and she guzzled it right down. The nurse commented that she ate a good breakfast, so who knows half the time. At least sheÂs eating and I havenÂt seen her turn down a chocolate shake yet. Or anything chocolate for that matter!
posted by H at 2:59 PM
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