Great, But Sad Family Home Evening

So for FHE last night we went to my Granny's nursing home to watch a program they put on. For those of you who don't know, my Granny has Alzheimers and is going down pretty fast. She was a very classy lady. I remember how her hair was always perfect, her makeup was always perfect, her nails were always perfect. She wouldn't go outside without being perfect! I walked up to her last night and she had no make up on. At all. It was sad, not because I think ladies need to always wear makeup, but because she was so....anal I guess I could say, about it before the Alzheimers. It made me sad because I knew if she could, she would have been mortified. Anyway, we went to watch a sing-a-long they put on. It was fun. They sang a bunch of songs from their era. My Granny was always into putting on a show. She was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with her husband. They also sang in choruses for Utah Opera. She was always one to love an audience and to put on a performance. It was fun to watch her sing last night. Even though she didn't remember most of the words to the songs, she had fun singing and waving and putting on facial expressions.

It was also very sad. It was like going to a Kindergarten program. My classy grandmother sitting in front of an audience, reading the words for the songs from a big flip chart, following an upbeat director. If she was all there, I think she would have thought it silly. But because she is so far gone, she loved it. But that's the part that makes me sad. Sometimes I wonder why Heavenly Father allows horrible diseases like Alzheimers to run rampant. My Granny is my 3rd grandparent to be diagnosed with the disease. Both my grandfathers have died from it. It's an awful, cruel disease. It's heartbreaking to go visit and not have them know you. To see my children go up and give kisses and hugs and know that she has no clue that they are her great-grandchildren. I remember when Tiaree was born, she was so excited. Her first great-grandchild, and now she doesn't even recognize her, let alone me. I remember with my Grandad, my Granny's husband, that he lost his ability to speak first. He got confused and forgot and all that, but he could still listen. He would bow his head and just listen, but he couldn't say anything. Then one day my mom put on some Mo-Tab and he sat up straight and sang every word to one of his favorite songs. It's weird how it works like that.

Anyway, I wanted to put some pictures and videos of my Granny up to share with you. All the ladies wore tiara's and boas and all the men had on top hats. It was cute. So my Granny has the blue shirt on in the front row. Her sister, my Auntie Winsome, actually lives there with her and is sitting one down from her. They are cute ladies and they get together and criticize everyone over and over cause they don't remember they've done it once already!! LOL They are from South Africa and their accents get really thick when they are together too. Auntie Win doesn't have Alzheimers, she does have some dimentia though. She is a good thing for my Granny. A constant that my Granny remembers all the time. I think it helps. I believe that a lot of times with Alzheimers the person knows something is wrong and gets frustrated and scared when they can't remember. I've seen that with all my grandparents. My Granny is the best at blowing it off though, of covering it. But she really is an actress, has been all her life, so it comes easy for her to pretend like nothing is wrong.My Auntie Win is the one in the purple shirt with the pink boa.




Here are some videos. They are from my cell so they really aren't great, but they are fun. They show my Granny's performing side, especially the last one, she is very theatrical!! Enjoy! K, I just realized that the sound isn't working at all on these videos, but you can still see her dancing, which was what I was going for! Sorry though, the sound is kind of creepy!