On these hot summer days, it’s great to bring the sunshine inside where it’s cool! At our Lady-Links crafts visits with our dear friends in various stages of cognitive decline, we often choose projects that are related to the current season. The “You Are My Sun Shine” door hangers were fun to make in a nice cool location while the outside temperatures soared upward, close to the hundred degree mark.
Not only did we “beat the heat” but the sunshine craft inspired plenty of great conversation about summertime activities. We discovered that as children we did many of the same things even though we grew up in different regions of the United States. We played outside with our friends and most of the time, we stayed out until the street lights came on! There were shared memories of games, swimming parties, sunflowers and picnics. We have found that our dear friends can remember events from their childhood and enjoy sharing them when prompted.
This particular craft inspired us to sing “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey.” We sang it all the way through and even included the second verse. Our dear friend harmonized on parts of it, and we learned that she has a beautiful singing voice. What a wonderful surprise that was!
There are many ways to let the sun shine through our lives by bringing happiness to those around us. “You make me happy when skies are grey.” Living with any type of cognitive decline or dementia certainly qualifies as “grey skies.” It’s our goal as Lady-Links that we bring a little sunshine with us to each and every visit. As we do that, the day, no matter the weather, is brighter for all of us!
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