Jo and the Music

Jo was an accomplished artist and was the most elegant lady I had ever met. She was in the latter stages of dementia when I first met her. There was such a quiet grace about her that I longed to know more about her. She seldom spoke now, but her smile was so beautiful. Her brilliant blue eyes would look deeply into mine-almost as if she could see to the depths of my soul. Jo was always there when I began a group activity. She sat quietly as I asked my trivia questions or reminisced about days gone by. She would smile when I spoke directly to her, but she remained silent. One of my favorite things was sing-alongs with the residents. We sang the old songs that they remembered from church or school. When we forgot the words we would just hum until we remembered the words again. One evening we were singing "God Bless America" when I heard a wonderful soprano voice. I looked over to see Jo with a lovely smile singing along. She had perfect pitch and didn't miss a note. From that moment we never had a sing-along without singing "God Bless America."