Nancy and I spent the last day of 2009 with her father. When we arrived at the nursing home we found him sitting in his chair and loudly entertaining the other residents and staff with a joyous song. We’re not sure what the song was but he appeared to be happy singing.
I have always enjoyed making photos. It is important to me the photos I make must speak to me as well as to others. Recently I’ve been in touch with Lucia De Giovanni regarding her life project. A link to her life project can be found here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sKzmlvweVk
Lucia’s work has been inspiring to me and my discussions with her have encouraged me to embark on my own Life Project by offering my services pro bono to the residents and families of the nursing home where my father-in-law is a resident.
My father-in-laws hands have a lot of stories to tell. He was a laborer his entire life and the character of his hands demonstrates the hard work in which he has engage his entire life. As I sat and looked at his hands I recall them when they were younger in appearance. I love hands. They like someone’s eyes tell me a story of that person. It is the story of that person, of that person’s life I wish to tell through my photography.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a scary disease. I don’t believe anyone would argue that point. Today was a good day. For the most part he was alert and as attentive as this disease will allow him to be. Nancy stepped out of the room for a few minutes and during this time Paul’s food arrived. I asked him if he wanted to eat and he uttered a clear “Yeah.” As I scooped food onto a spoon my memories raced back to my grandmother and the time I spent visiting and feeding her in the same nursing home.
I hate the nursing home. At the same time I love the nursing home. It is this love which drew me back to Lucia’s Life Project. I find it so sad many of the residents who reside in nursing homes have few visitors. We make excuses We find ourselves too busy and too wrapped up in our own lives. One day while visiting my grandmother I found myself crying as I heard a resident screaming across the hall. As I listened to conversations being had between caregivers, I realized this woman had been abandoned. She had been brought to the nursing home several months earlier and her two children, daughters who had never been back to visit. I understand caring for a loved one with such an illness must be difficult but these are our parents. They have given us life and helped us to develop the skills which we will find necessary to be successful in our lives. Through my life project I hope to be able to capture the lives of these individuals in the hope someone will remember them.
Thank you for reading and please leave a comment.
Christopher
