Read to Me

On a recent afternoon, I sat in my rocking chair having my tea. My wife, Candy, lounged in her recliner with our dog between us. Candy was reading one of the devotional books that have become an anchor on her journey with Alzheimer’s. “Listen to this,” she said. “I think this is exactly what we need today. You’ve been buzzing around all day tending to details. Now sit and sip your tea and listen.” With that she read aloud the devotional that went with Matthew 6:34.

At least once each day she invites me to pause my activity and listen to her read something she finds appropriate to that day. This rhythm has replaced our years of reading light fiction aloud. With the onset of her Alzheimer’s, she lost the ability to follow a plot from chapter to chapter, and she found any intense elements distressing. I tried writing uplifting short stories. After reading several, she said, “I just can’t get into these things you imagined.” On her own, she started reading her devotionals aloud to me.

I relinquish disappointment that my stories didn’t satisfy her and embrace the joy that she found a way to keep us reading. Her selections cue me to what she focuses on each day and help keep us present with each other in the moment.