Life's Soundtrack - What's in Your Playlist?

We're building The Memory Kit to let people impacted by Alzheimer's and dementia connect and support one another by telling the story of their loved one's lifetime.  One of the things we have been working on is my mom's playlist.  We've been remembering and sharing her favorite songs, many of which she played masterfully on the guitar or piano, and sang with perfect pitch.  

But a soundtrack is more than just music isn't it? Today I'm remembering our house on the weekends in the fall, and how my mom and dad loved to watch the games all day. Saturdays they watched the Hawkeyes and the Trojans, and when Max and Ginger went to UGA, the Bulldogs. For Molly, Sundays were all about her favorite quarterbacks - she just loved Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.  For the last 26 years mom and dad lived on the west coast, so the fun started early.  I loved being up at the house, hearing the game in the background, making food and margaritas, and hearing  my dad yelling and clapping for big plays.  

I knew things were really getting bad for mom when she couldn't tell her teams apart any more, and ultimately stopped watching because it frustrated her. She had lost one more thing that had given her great joy in life.  As I write this the game is on at my house, but if I close my eyes I'm back at Firenze.  Molly's in her chair with her feet up cheering for her Brady bunch, dad's sitting in a kitchen chair too close to the TV, getting really pissed off when there is a bad call. All of us on the edge of our seats when our team is behind and has a chance to win with one good drive.

When you lose some one there are so many "one mores" that you think about for the rest of your life.  Damn, what I wouldn't give for one more game day together.  

Jeff Gray

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