But the Greatest of these is Love

Love shared among friends is a blessing   Add some laughter and you’ve got a Lady-Links visit.  Our friend with Alzheimer’s dementia responds well to the way we express our love through smiles, encouragement, and activities that she enjoys doing.  It isn’t surprising that those of us who make these friendship visits enjoy the same benefits as well.  Love is always the theme of our visits,  so naturally as we approached the month of February,  our visits included making valentines and valentine-themed flower arrangements.

The Alzheimer’s Association website has many tips for how to choose and present activities to a person with Alzheimer’s dementia.  One important tip says to stress a  sense of purpose using this example, “If you ask a person to make a card, he or she may not respond.  But if you say that you’re sending a special get-well card to a friend and invite him or her to join you, the person may enjoy working on the task.”  With our friend, we let her know that there were many groups in our community who want to use our valentines to send to those in need.  Then we simply began making the cards and she readily joined us in the activity.   It has a purpose and she is very willing to help fulfill that purpose.

 

We found that she had some difficulty using glue so my daughter-in-law who has a sticker machine offered to make stickers from scripture designs we created.  Our friend had no trouble peeling and placing the stickers.  We purchased craft foam white, pink and red heart stickers to add additional decoration.  Some of the scriptures we chose were from the Old Testament.  Others were from the New Testament.  We also made valentines that did not include scripture, so that we would have a variety of choices for those groups who would receive our handmade creations.   The four scripture designs focused on God’s love or the impact that His love has in our hearts.

 

 

 

For easy assembly at each Lady-Link visit, we used baggies that had been filled ahead of time with all the supplies necessary to complete one valentine.   That made it easy and less confusing for our friend.   This still left room for creativity as the stickers could be placed in various arrangements.  Any necessary gluing was done and allowed to dry before being placed in the baggies. We found that preparation is the key to helping our friend successfully complete a project.  Presenting too many choices at any one time is overwhelming.  At our visits, each of us took one baggie at a time and made a valentine from its contents.  Then we each opened another baggie and proceeded.  As long as our friend is engaged we continue.  When she becomes disinterested, we change to another of the many activities we know she enjoys.

 

 

Representatives from each group who wanted to use our valentines had plenty of choices to fit the needs of their intended recipients and all were taken in a matter of minutes, with requests that we make more.  Our friend was present at our Valentine Give-Away and she saw first-hand how much people appreciated her creations, bringing much meaning, purpose, joy and hope to her life.

 

 

Isn’t that what Love is all about?

May your Valentine’s Day be filled with love and laughter as you enrich the lives of others.  

From your Lady-Link friends.