Location: Flannery Apartments, Margaret Blake Apartments and
Lakeview Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2013; 9:30 am-12:00 pm
I love Christmas. I just do. It’s everything about the holiday – the lights, the trees, the
crowd in the malls, the snow, the families & friends getting together, the
presents…everything. Most of all,
I love Christmas because anytime you turn on the radio or go into a retail
establishment, you hear the Christmas Carols and know that it is indeed the
season to be jolly. One of my
lasting memories is of exploring a small book shop in Hartford, Connecticut years
ago, with ‘12 Days of Christmas’
playing in the background, followed by ‘Frosty
The Snowman’, ‘Jingle Bells’ and
variety of other carols. As much
as I dislike winter, Christmas makes it all bearable and I for one am always
waiting for it, no matter the freezing cold following that. Plus, it is the only time of the year
when I am actually looking forward to the crowded places. There's something to be said about people
coming out in numbers and shopping for their loved ones, not to forget the
little kids waiting in line to see Santa Claus. It is that time of the year when the young and the old truly
believe and when wishes come true.
I love Christmas. So when I
saw that Chicago Cares was doing a caroling project on a Saturday, I was one of
the first to sign up.
 |
| Aah Christmas |
Now let me make it clear that I
have absolutely no talent for singing. I am not being modest; I cannot hold a tune to save my life. But, I was hoping that the rest of the
team would cover for me and we would get by. Wilson was co-leading this with Alisa and he had sent a
detailed itinerary the previous day, with all the stops and timings. We would be gathering at DePaul
University, Student Union building and then getting on a bus to visit 3
locations – ‘Flannery Apartments’, ‘Margaret Blake Apartments’ and ‘Lakeview Nursing’. The next day the trains were running
late and I was worried about making it to the meeting point on time. So I texted Wilson and told him that I
would proceed directly to the first stop and meet the group over there. I arrived at ‘Flannery Apartments’ and went to the activities room where we used
to meet for the now cancelled, ‘Arts & Eats’ projects. Chicago
Cares also had a breakfast project over there this morning and I saw that those
volunteers were preparing the room for that. The caroling crew wasn’t there yet, so I helped out the
breakfast team by rolling knives, spoons and forks in tissue paper. The
guests started filtering in just as my troupe arrived.
Everyone in the group was wearing
a variety of Santa, Elf or other festive headgear and I was feeling out of
place. Wilson gave me a Santa cap
and armed with a book of carols, we spread out in the dining room. Alisa started by asking if there were
any requests and we were pleased to see that many guests actually had carols that
they wanted us to perform. For the
next 20 minutes, we performed variety of carols with a lot of enthusiasm, not
least Alisa who was fantastic in getting the crowd excited. The residents appreciated our
performance and we left them to enjoy their breakfast. On the bus to our next destination, we
practiced a couple of the carols on which we had trouble harmonizing the tune,
such as ‘Feliz Navidad’ and ‘Silent Night’. Well, if we were going to do this, the
least we could do was try and be almost perfect. Our next stop was ‘Margaret
Blake Apartments’ and they had a breakfast club in progress as well. We had to get temporary passes to get
through the security, but once inside we followed the same process as earlier,
which was to spread out all over the room and take requests. I was standing next to a resident who
loved this and wanted to participate in the singing. I positioned my carol’s book so that she could refer to it
as well and for the reminder of our session, she joined us…and was quite
good as well.
 |
| Arts & Crafts project was on at 'Lakeview Nursing' |
After another round of
acknowledgements from the residents, we departed for our final destination; my
usually haunt – ‘Lakeview Nursing’. On the bus we discussed our favorite
Chicago Cares projects and I said that while I liked Alisa’s ‘Get Crafty’, mine was ‘Paint The Town Red’, without question. We arrived at ‘Lakeview Nursing’ and saw that the 1st floor activities room had been decorated for the holidays and an 'Arts & Crafts' project was
underway. We were going to be
visiting all three floors and so started at the top. The residents on 3rd floor
have the least mobility and are confined to wheelchairs. Furthermore, despite the festive
decorations, they all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, hardly noticing our
arrival. We started performing and
then a strange thing happened. We
saw some of the residents actually responding. One resident was trying to mouth the words, while I saw
another trying to move his immobile fingers like a pianist. The rest of him appeared to be
disconnected, but the fingers were moving. It was amazing to see this kind of response and while we
could have stayed there for a long time, we had to keep moving after a few
songs. Honestly, this was the best
therapy any one of them would receive today.
On the 2nd floor I spotted
my friend Emma and as our group started performing, I noticed that she was
mouthing the words. I joined her
and like the earlier location, put my book down in front of her so that we
could sing in unison. It was
fantastic and we did a few songs together till it was time to leave. I wished her ‘Happy Holidays’ and we moved on to the 1st floor. I spotted several of the residents that
I knew and I went stood next to Jim as we performed a few songs. Then I noticed my buddy Elmer sitting
with a Chicago Cares volunteer and I went over to say hello. I asked him to join us in singing and
show everyone how it was done, at which Elmer told the volunteer that I had
once “made him work like a rented mule”. Boy, he does love reminding me about
that. I said that I don’t know about
working like a rented mule, but I was sure hoping to get him to sing. And it wasn’t just me that Elmer was
engaged in a banter with, he was doing the same with the volunteer. She asked him what he was getting her for
Christmas and he said socks. As we
started singing “Walking In Winter
Wonderland”, he looked at the volunteer and said, “Not in those shoes, you won’t”. He was having a blast with his usual brand of humor and I
was in splits. He is fantastic if
one wants their spirits raised.
We had finished our set and
before leaving I wished Elmer and Jim the best for the holidays. It had without question been one of
the best projects of the year for me, and back on the bus I said that I was
changing my vote for my favorite Chicago Cares project to this one. I mentioned how the residents had
responded to our singing and I am convinced that Chicago Cares requires a ‘Music Therapy’ program. Based on what I had seen today, I am
certain that even a small step in that direction would help. I told Alisa and Wilson that next year
we should add more locations, but the bus rental is prohibitive. Perhaps the volunteers who attend the
regular programs could get together and perform for the seniors as a part of
that project. Point is
that there are several options and it would be a pity if we do nothing. It was sad
but satisfying to see the residents respond to our music. They may be suffering from old age and
dementia, but the part of their mind that associates music with memories was
still active. Lets use that to
help them…and in doing so spread some cheer. Man, I do love Christmas.
*All the client's names have
been changed in order to respect their privacy
No comments:
Post a Comment