I adore the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day because the story manages to philosophically explore how we approach learning from the mistakes we make in life and yet find a way to laugh at ourselves and set aside our egos. We laugh along with Bill’s struggle to overcome the repetitive loop he is stuck living every day — That is until he breaks free from his usual cynical, rigid way of seeing himself and the world.
Working with people living with dementia and memory loss can feel like “Groundhog Day” and challenges us to turn around our internal process so that our response to the repetitiveness is one of understanding and compassion.
I will give you a recent example when I started my 8:30 am routine with a long list of important agenda items for my day as I walked into work. I said hello but avoided engaging with a resident who I feared would derail my agenda with repetitive questions, only to become the one who was humbled by her compassion towards me. She astutely observed my facial expression as stressed and touched me on the shoulder and told me “don’t worry too much.” And then she sang me a song. It turns out this song had been a “go to” for her when she felt down. The experience of hearing her soft voice was a pure gift of kindness. We hugged and laughed, leaving my day to be anything but repetitive. Now when I see her each morning there will be a song to share that makes it impossible to be stressed or cynical about my work and will remind me to leave my agenda at the door.
Want to hear the song? Here is the link: https://youtu.be/vGTt1HrvMY4?si=pAXdf_SBQzNjBPkS
Resources for repetition and dementia:
I also wanted to share a helpful resource on hospice care and a place for end of life dialogue with one of the most inspiring leaders in the field:
We’ve Lost Our Role Models for How to Die and How to Give Care to Those Who are Dying
Earthquake preparedness:
Drill 10/30/24 1pm
This month we are focusing on emergency preparedness for earthquakes. Check out our State’s excellent website for earthquake readiness:
https://www.shakeout.org/california/index.html
December 7th is the deadline for Medicare enrollment and we are fortunate to have an excellent program in Sonoma County to support and answer your