Ok, I admit I've been struggling with a bit of a funk lately. We all do it....don't we?
Today, when visiting Jerry, I was astonished at how he still connects with me. It blows me away. Even though he is quite "lost", his footsteps seem to move faster when he is approaching me. His face (eyes) brighten and his hands still reach out. The meeting never gets old. I guess all that playing together left it's imprint.
After sitting with him for lunch, which is not the most appetizing thing to do, I asked if he was ready to go. As if he had been bitten by a cattle prod he popped up from his chair. I wiped him off, the aide took him to the potty, and then we wandered down the hall to the porch outside. It was a stormy day and it was really nice to watch the trees swirling and the dark clouds rolling in. Then, I realized how funny and bizarre the conversations are at elder care facilities. At first, it was just Jerry and I sitting on the double wicker sofa. Then a gentleman with his cane came to join us. He is from Boston or somewhere up north and has a quick and sharp witted voice. He talks as if he's in front of a sales presentation. He'd say....."It's a lovely day. Raining. Hope it's not wet." Then when another little lady came out, he pointed to the other side of the patio and said..."They are playing craps over there. You may want to join them." She said, "I don't play craps." Then he responded with, "Well. So you probably won't want to join them." Course, there was no crap playing on the other side. There actually were not people on the other side either.
Then, I got to wondering. These people probably are so fine in their own world. They have no idea that the Boston marathon was bombed, nor that there are terrorists on the planet. They are clueless about North Korea or Afganistan. They have no idea of the many stresses in the world. That's why they are so dad gummed healthy! No stress at all. The most stress they have is whether they will get a generous portion of ice cream at lunch or not.
Seriously, Jerry and I sat in silence as I listened (probably Jerry was listening too) to the gentleman and his "crap shooting days." As each little person came out to join us, I captured a part of their existence. And you know what? They actually understood and related to each other. Under all that aging gray matter, there is an instinct that relates.....such understanding and tolerance and lack of judgement about how silly they may sound. Otherwise, nonsense...seems to make sense.
Go figure.