New Experience

A new experience tonight. Janet wanted to go to bed about 10:45. I told her that I bet she would not stay in bed ten minutes before she wanted up. I was right. She used to go to bed and immediately go to sleep. Not any more. She is up as long as I am up except on the nights when I don’t go to sleep at all. Anyway, she is now sitting on the edge of the bed singing, “it’s the thing right there” over and over. Back after she had the last stoke and lost her ability to find words, I tried to get her to sing but I never could do it. Talking and singing work on different sides of the brain and I thought maybe she might be able to say what she wanted to say if she sang rather than talked. I guess talking and reasoning work on the same side of the brain because I could never get her to understand that it might make a difference.

This is the first time that she has come anywhere close to singing since 2000. I mean constantly repeating “it’s the thing right there” over and over is pretty standard fare every evening, but not singing it. As much as it gets on my nerves, singing it seems to make it a little more soothing even thought it is so much louder—there are times when hearing loss is an asset. LOL

She has now added, "Rags, Megan, come on" to the mix. That is what she calls me, either Rags or Megan, the names of our dogs. Once tonight she actually called me Gary while she was singing. I really would like to think that she will continue with the singing. I'll just turn the hearing aid down.