Last evening while Mr. was watching the hockey game, my Lady wanted to do something else. Today is her 90th. birthday , so I thought I would volunteer to play cards with her.
You have to understand the whole picture here .
The other Care Givers on their shifts have been sitting and playing cards with her, something she really enjoys.
B. has dementia and she really enjoys things that get her thinking .
She likes to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy , just to try to answer the questions . In her earlier years she taught school.
Anyway , as for me , I do not really enjoy cards and it has been many many years since I have even played at it , not even Solitare on my computer .
So I decided to sit with B. and let her remind me how to play 'Fish'.
A Lady with dementia teaching a 'girl' who cannot remember how to play any of these games.
Needless to say, hilarity broke out early on .
B. had her own rules, and they seemed 'fishy' (sorry :) to me , but since I wasn't sure , and really , am I going to argue with my sweet 90 year old 'teacher' on the evening of her birthday ?
I sensed the Lord nearby, absolutely cracking up, holding His sides with happy laughter and joy at my dilemma , as B. and I both appeared to be playing with dementia.
B. won ! What can I say ? We tried a couple of more games that she remembered , 'sort of'. She won those as well ! No, I did not 'let' her win.
My head was swirling with 'not remembering' , 'not knowing' but we laughed a lot . I decided to 'finish quickly' and excused myself by feigning fatigue .... and who wouldn't? Well , if I am honest , the other care givers , that's who, they seemed to have the stamina that I do not .
Funny though , perhaps strange is a better word , that 'swirl' around my head of 'not knowing', not being able to recall . Sometimes I think that the Lord shows me how it feels to be 'them', if only just for a moment . This has happened to me occasionally with one or two others . Just a 'teaching moment' to feel where that 'Dear One' lives all the time now.
It was fun, but I am going to find out how to really play Fish, though 'B.' is pretty convinced that her way is 'the' way ... what if she is right ?
7 comments:
Hi Nancy!
Oh, thanks for the great laugh this morning! I can just see you feigning fatigue!
That is funny
I can't play cards either......not even fish!
Plus, I hate games, and Board games as well...
What a task you have!
That is too cute.
I can just imagine playing a game with someone who has dementia when neither one of you are sure what you are doing.
Sounds fun.
Are you checking the internet for the rules of "Go Fish". I wonder if they are there??
Bev
The good thing is that when B. asks me again, Do you play cards? She will not remember that we did this already, so I can decline graciously and try to find something else for her. Sad but true.....
Ha Ha! Too funny, Nancy!
Too hilarious! Sounds like something I would do. Hate those card games. My mother was a card shark!!
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