Page 22 - Storytelling - Storylistening

VII. Reminiscing Ideas for Recovering Golden Memories Poor old Miss Nancy has lost her memory and young Wilfred wants to help her find it – once he understands
what they are looking for.
“What’s a memory?” he asks his friends at the old people’s home where Miss Nancy lives. “Something warm,” replies one.
“Something from long ago,” says another.
“Something that makes you cry,” responds a third.
“Makes you laugh,” answers a fourth. “As precious as gold,” muses a fifth.
Back home, Wilfred looks for memories to replace the ones Miss Nancy has lost. Into a basket he places a warm, freshly laid hen’s egg; seashells he found long ago; a war medal he sadly recalls his late grandfather giving him; a puppet that makes him laugh; and last but not least, his precious football.
He gives his basket to a surprised and delighted Miss Nancy. She pulls the items out one by one and begins to remember when she was a child. She tells about a bird’s nest she found, the beach she used to visit, a big brother who never returned from war, a puppet that made her little sister laugh, the day she met her friend Wilfred, and the secrets they share.
“And the two of them smiled and smiled because Miss Nancy’s memory had been found again by a small boy, who wasn’t very old either.”
– From Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox, (Omnibus Books, 1984; Kane/Missler Book Publishers, 1985)
This 20-year-old children’s story by Mem Fox gives a vivid example of how and why caregivers should encourage reminiscing and storytelling among elders, says Cynthia Barnard, CTRS, Volunteer Coordinator and Elder Life Specialist at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
She and her volunteers create their own baskets of memories – called reminiscence boxes – to keep minds active and prevent delirium among patients in the hospital’s Elder Life Unit. A shoebox full of magazine clippings, photographs, holiday symbols and trinkets can trigger strong memories even in those with severe cognitive deficits.
“Then you can get them to tell the story—it may not be totally accurate, but at least for the moment they’re engaging their minds,” says Barnard.
Porch Swing SeriesTM Culture Change Workbooks ©Action Pact, Inc.2005-2006 p.18