Christmastime 2022
Christmastime 2022
We have JOY this Christmastime. We love the music of the season & the joy of so many! The days are starting to get longer. Beverly continues to be content; her most common reaction to events around her is to laugh. She tries to be engaged with everyone. We still have phone calls to others—her brother Larry and his wife Ann, Erik (plus Audrey and Lulu) and Lori (plus Trevor, Madeline, Owen, and Calvin), my brothers Curtis (Sandy) and Henry (Kathie), and our friends Dallas and Donna. I visit her every day and she knows me, is happy to hold my hand, hear my voice, and listen to music. She is very positive, given the circumstances. There have not been any medical crises in many months, though the anti-seizure medication maintains her tiredness.
My life is also happier than a year ago (“Christmas Downtime” was the title last Christmas). I am more content with the stability we have and am even optimistic. This is not the journey we have sought, but I can accept the reality and continue with satisfaction that I have cared for her, and for myself as well. My music requires my attention and I continue to learn. I played two Christmas singalongs at Beverly’s place and I will perform there soon. My personal life has new promising aspects. If life were totally predictable, it would keep us bored.
I am committed to a new idea of providing dementia caregivers with the kind of support needed, particularly for the newbies as they enter an unstable, unpredictable process, one for which there is often little help and advice. More about that later, as the idea develops life.
Beverly & I wish that Christmas brings joy to us all. Life will change for the better if we can engage with more joyfulness. We must carry over the joy of Christmas by keeping the foreground of life full of activities—music, dancing, lovely stories, beautiful sights, hugs and kisses, and love—and maintain our minds in positive focus. For the many who have brought, and continue to bring, much joy to us, we feel great appreciation. Thank you and bless you. Peace.
David & Beverly