Play a Song for Me

June 29, 2020

I've been trying to catch my husband awake, going to the facility to see him at all different times of day. Today, I decided to go later in the afternoon. He woke up for me! Yay! I gave him a facial, massaged his feet, fed him his dinner, played music for him. 

Our son happened to call me while I was there, so I put him on speaker phone right next to my husband's ear. The Hubster seemed to respond to that for about five seconds and even sort of smiled. It was very heartwarming, another memory to tuck away. 

After dinner, the caregivers came in and repositioned my husband, as I had mentioned that he seemed rather uncomfortable. When they left the room, I grabbed my ukulele and sat in the chair next to his bed. He went right to sleep as I played some soft, slow chords for him. He generally falls asleep after eating, so I don't think it was entirely to escape my playing.

As I was leaving, one of the caregivers thanked me for the beautiful music. What? I thought I was playing and singing super softly; but, apparently, I could be heard in the dining area, and a couple of the residents were really enjoying it. Golly. It made me feel so good to think I might have brought them a little joy. 

I'm reminded that the other day, the wife of one of the residents was visiting him through the window, and she saw me arrive with my music case. She gave me a big smile, telling me her husband had told her about me and looked forward to listening to my playing. She asked me to make sure he could hear me. I took her request with a grain of salt and assumed she was confusing me with the music therapist. But I guess she must have known what she was talking about, since it turns out he's one of the ones who was in the dining area listening to the tunes today. Who knew?!