Ron and I made our annual trip to NE a few weeks ago. Yep, still so green it hurts your eyes. Yep, visited the Museum of Nebraska Art for some culture.
My favorite parts require some background. Last year when we visited, Uncle Dwane had recently made a necessary and permanent move from his home in Sumner to one of the local nursing homes in Kearney. Though he was handling it well, he clearly had many feelings around his new situation, not all of them happy. Over the course of the first part of the year, he was working through a list of things he wanted to do; that he considered them to be for the last time was palpable.
Historically, he and my Aunt Elsie were well known locally for their hymn singing, and were requested for weddings, funerals and such events. Among the activities he chose last year was a singing performance at his church in Sumner. With this in mind, I told him that if he wanted, I could learn the piano accompaniment to some of the hymns he knew, and next time I came I'd play and he could sing. He liked the idea. I went to his house and found a couple of the books he'd sung from and took them to him. He wanted to keep his copies, so I checked on-line and found there were still copies floating around that I would be able to purchase. I asked him which songs he'd like to sing. He chose a couple, then said, "You choose the rest." I agreed, and asked him how many he wanted me to prepare. "Oh, about ten," he answered. Holy smokes! At the time, I was not long into my most recent iteration of pianism, and this was a big bite to chew. However, I'd made the offer and was good for it. I found and purchased the two books (Etsy again!). Learning and practicing commenced.
As this year's visit approached, I realized Dwane wouldn't be able to read the lyrics in the original books, so I experimented with some fonts, found the largest that would keep the words on not-too-many-pages, typed them up, and mailed them to him so he'd have them ahead of time if he wanted.
I'd asked Ron to come along both to visit with Dwane and to record some of the songs on our phones. The first morning we arrived, Dwane greeted us, then immediately invited us to the recreation room where the piano was. He knew which chair he wanted to sit in, which little table would be right to lay the music out so he could see it, where the plug in for the electric piano was. He was READY TO SING!
What an absolute pleasure it was for both of us! Dwane was very appreciative; I found myself to be in that treasured position of receiving as much as I gave. We were able to get together three different days, and each day his voice improved. The last day he decided he was in good enough voice to perform in the dining room for lunch. Please enjoy this as much as we and the diners did:
The other favorite part of our visit was meeting the newest member of the family. Born in May to nephew Sean and his Constant Companion Leslie, Ezra Robert:
Wait....is that Ezra singing????
We're lucky to be able to enjoy the spectrum: those older than us still finding pleasure in favorite activities; those newer than us with their lives full of any possibility.
"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people."
Thich Nhat Hahn
Great trip and so nice to be with family
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