Picture of classmates - Harry Strong on the far right
Yesterday classmate Harry Strong,sent this by email in response to Steve and my reflection “Words from childhood” posted on Views from the Edge. I asked Harry for permission to publish part of his email here. Harry’s reflection ends with questions for your reflection.
– by Harry Lee Strong, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, sent April 28, 2012
While teaching adult classes at the Church of the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls, I led a course called: “Could I Sing That Song and Mean It?” We sang and listened to a number of sacred and secular pieces on various topics. This was one of them.
“Child Again” (Beth Nielsen Chapman)
She’s wheeled into the hallway
Till the sun moves down the floor
Little squares of daylight
Like a hundred times before
She’s taken to the garden
For the later afternoon
Just before her dinner
They return her to her room
And inside her mind
She is running
She is running in the summer wind
Inside her mind
She is running in the summer wind
Like a child again
The family comes on Sunday
And they hover for a while
They fill her room with chatter
And they form a line of smiles
Children of her children
Bringing babies of their own
Sometimes she remembers
Then her mama calls her home … CHORUS
Playmate, come out and play with me
(It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring)
And bring your dollies three
(Bumped his head on the edge of the bed)
Climb up my apple tree
(Never got up in the morning)
Slide down my rain barrel
(Rain, rain, go away)
Into my cellar door
(Come again another day)
And we’ll be jolly friends
(Little Johnny wants to play)
Forevermore
(Some more) … CHORUS
- Do you have family members or friends who are suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia?
- What counsel, wisdom, or inspiration do you have to offer to caregivers and loved ones who are trying to be helpful companions to those whose mind is not what it used to be?
Views from the Edge 
Friends have told me that often they found their relatives able to sing old songs with them even after they no longer spoke much — simple song from childhood, or old hymns.
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Thanks for chiming in, CA.
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That’s one of the most wonderful things I learned as a chaplain to WWII vets at a VA hospital and long term care. I learned that, as they were telling me about their younger selves and experiences, they were there. They were feeling the breeze on their cheek, smelling the scents on the wind, ruffling their head of wind-blown hair.
It was all still there for them, still real, still present, still current, still alive. I was jealous. I wanted to go with them and experience all that too. It’s a beautiful and sweet thing, as is the song.
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