Thursday, November 26, 2020

An Unexpected Thanksgiving Day Gift

 



Today is Thanksgiving 2020. So much for which to be grateful and so much for which to grieve loss.

This e-mail showed up today as sent from my website: HTTP://www.horvich.com

Do I need to tell you how it made me feel and how many tears rolled down my cheek before I had to go get a tissue?

Hi, my name is Meredith Schroeder. I’m the art therapist at The Lieberman Center in Skokie. I’ve been working in the building for almost 2 years now. 


On our memory care unit, I run a poetry writing and appreciation group. One of our group members is an avid reader and she brought your poetry book “Sit with Me a While Longer” to our poetry group one day. 


I couldn’t believe the luck! We read your poems that day, and since then this particular group member has found comfort and lots of humor in your poems. We took turns reading many of them for about an hour and half the other day while we held hands. 


All of this to say, that I (and the residents on our memory care unit) really appreciate your work. With everything that is going on in the world, it is wonderful to have something with which residents can connect. 


I feel the content of many of your poems resonates with them even when they are not able to put it into words. 


On a personal note, I thank you for being vulnerable and writing about your experience loving and caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s. I’ve worked with older adults, primarily those experiencing memory issues, and I always value hearing stories of people that know what it’s like. 


Thank you for everything you do.


Fondly,

Meredith


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