Tag Archives: dementia

I KNOW YOU’D TELL ME

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Judy

I called my dad in the afternoon and he sounded terrible, but he said I had woken him up and that was why. When his nurse called me around dinnertime she told me what I expected; he needed to go immediately to the hospital. She said he was close to death. Continue reading →

Tagged "sandwich generation", Aging Parents, Caregiving, creativity, dementia, father's illness, grief, guitar, inspiration, loss, loss of a father, loss of parents, lovesong, lyric development, lyric writing, More Than You Know, mother, mother daughter relationship, mother's illness, Ordinary Life, original songs, parental love, performing, singing, songwriting, writing, you can never lose my love | 1 Comment

I ALWAYS KNEW THAT I HAD YOU

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Judy

I had focused so much on losing my mother incrementally to her dementia. Now I had my father to think about. The aching feeling in my heart spread like tentacles throughout my body. I wasn’t sure what the ache was about. I thought about what I would write.
Then I heard music playing and realized that the words I was searching for had already been written. I decided that my recent song “You Were There,” applied to my father as well.
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Tagged "sandwich generation", acoustic guitar, Aging Parents, Caregiving, compassionate friends, composing, creativity, dad's death, Daily Life, death, death of a child, dementia, father, father dying, father's illness, grief, grief bereavement "Loss of a Child", GRIEF RELATED, grieving a father, guitar, impending loss, inspiration, loss, loss of a father, lovesong, lyric development, lyric writing, lyrics, Music, nursing facility, Ordinary Life, original songs, parent's decline, parents deterioration, singing, songwriting, writing | 5 Comments

HEALING CAME AT LAST

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Judy

I’m aware that I have a complicated life. However, because I’ve given myself permission to indulge my passions – well, I feel like I’m the luckiest person on earth. It’s not that I don’t have financial worries, responsibilities, or pressure. It’s just that I am so happy. The pain of grief is indescribable. It is suffocating, torturous, and excruciating. Even those words do not truly capture the feeling of wanting to escape from the world of the living. I have lived with that level of pain. Continue reading →

Tagged "sandwich generation", acoustic guitar, Advocacy, aging mother, Aging Parents, boiling water burn, burn, burn on arm, Caregiving, composing, creativity, Daily Life, dementia, grief bereavement "Loss of a Child", guitar, humor daily life, inspiration, loss, lyric development, lyric writing, lyrics, mother daughter relationship, mother's illness, Music, Ordinary Life, original songs, scalding, singing, songwriting, voice lessons, writing | Leave a comment

THERE’S SO MUCH FEAR

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Judy

My mother had attempted physical therapy last week. Because I am very aware of attitudes and outcomes, I found it very interesting to hear Miriam describe how it went to me. My mother walked several steps, but then she collapsed in terror. She was not in pain, but she was panicked and fearful. Miriam said, “The physical therapist kept emphasizing to your mother that it might hurt – so she was very afraid.” It turns out that my mother’s pain in her life is not her hip, her shoulder, or her back anymore. It is terror over her intense fear of the unknown.
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