What do you have in your home that helps tell your story? Is it a Lone Ranger toy that reminds you of the Saturday movie matinees you saw with your friends when you were a child? Is it a pocket watch that you remember your father using to help you learn to tell time? Perhaps it is jewelry that came from a favorite family member or pictures that were part of your childhood home? What memories do you have that are sparked by those objects, and how did they become important enough in your life that you saved them? The answer to those questions is the basis for the Show and Tell visits to our dear friends, those ladies in our retirement community who are in various stages of cognitive decline.
As we tell the story behind what we bring, we engage our dear friends in conversation about their memories that are triggered by our show and tell items. They can relate with stories of their own about what movies they remember seeing as children or how they learned to write and tell time. About what jewelry they wore or what they remember their mothers or grandmothers wearing. About famous artwork they saw or what they had displayed in their homes. The objects serve a purpose…to see something and to hold it brings back memories much more than just talking about it. Plus it gives us connections as we recall similar memories and experiences.
Sharing something meaningful from our past helps us tell our stories in ways that bring joy and connections to those who listen. What hidden treasures do you have in your closet that you might share with a friend or loved one in cognitive decline? Perhaps you’ll find that your story is just what someone else needed to hear. At our Lady-Links visits, the treasure is not in the monetary value of the object but in the positive emotional connections that the object brings to all of us who are there. We share because we care.
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