I have two amazing women in my life. Scratch that. I have a bunch of amazing women in my life but today I am writing about two of them. One is my longtime friend, Veronica. We've known one another since before children when Jay and I lived in Florida. Back then I worked with the elderly, finding caregivers to help them in their homes. Veronica was doing this work on the side of her budding photography career. Jump forward 20 plus years and she is now working with elderly and doing photography on the side. She happens to possess fantastic skills working with seniors, even, and maybe especially, those with cognitive impairment. She understands the patience needed to care for the elderly and infirm day in and day out. She offers not only respite but compassion and guidance to the family as well. Veronica has been a vital part of my support system since I've been going through this with my dad. Her pep talks keep me sane!
Then there's Lisa. Lisa is a newer friend who we met in the last several years here in Raleigh. Her son is a year younger than Zach and also a musician. Jay plays softball with her husband. Lisa is a talented musician, too. She plays the blues harmonica. She's also one of the best storytellers I know - Tina and Veronica are both in that category, too.
Lisa also runs a business doing chair exercise to music with seniors both privately and in facilities. I had the privilege of seeing her in action and she is crazy good at what she does. Like Veronica, she gets it. She is upbeat and positive and playful and fun to be around.
Lisa came to the house a couple of times for chair exercise to music sessions with Herbie. First time was met with resistance but the second time Dad enjoyed it. ("Where's my good nurse?" he asked me a few days later. "The one who dances with me.") Both times I was super impressed with Lisa's skills and patience and ability to let things roll off her. Then I took Dad to one of her group classes. WOW. She is dynamite. I was blown away by how good she is at what she does. Seriously. Just remembering everyone's name was impressive enough but the music and enthusiasm and energy that she brings is infectious. Dad not only enjoyed himself but thinks he helped Lisa run the class, and she is letting him think that.
My personal wish is that Veronica will get trained by Lisa (they are so much alike it's eerie) and start doing these classes with seniors in south Florida. It's a perfect fit for her. So maybe I can connect these two but in the meantime I am counting my blessings to have them both in my life.