Pocket Full of Mumbles

Valerie always knew the lyrics to songs. She knew them very well. She would always tell me when I messed up a lyric when performing. 

During the past 2 years Valerie's speech has diminished to the point where she can only get out a few phrases. It is a difficult thing to witness, especially for someone who was a born conversationalist with an amazing vocabulary.

While getting her ready for bed, I always mention the names of her family members and friends.
She always repeats her oldest brother's name Alan. Though lately, in the past several months, she wasn't even repeating Alan's name to me.

Last night, as I was talking to her and mentioning names, she repeated almost all of them. Alan, Alexis, Dianne, Bill, Mom, Julia, Ilona, Vinny and her favorite, Uncle Ray. She hasn't done that in a VERY long time.

Valerie loves music and I have an Ipod filled with all her favorite songs that plays all the time. Music has an amazing effect.

Last night I was playing guitar and singing songs for Valerie. She was in her hospital bed and seemed sleepy.  As I was singing the first verse of "You Are My Sunshine", she sang all the lyrics with me for the first verse!
And she was smiling and in good spirits. 

The last song I played for Valerie last night was "Feeling Groovy" by Simon and Garfunkel.  Valerie once wrote of the lyrics to that song, and that the idea of perfection was "no deeds to do, no promises to keep." Despite her "pocket full of mumbles" (a line from the another Paul Simon song "The Boxer", just in case you didn't know that...I sang that for her as well) she is still Valerie and like the sun on a cloudy day, peeks out here and there.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

That she sang those lyrics last night shows me that, although she cannot always express herself, Valerie is "still there", and she always will be for me. She is my sunshine!