48 Ginger snaps
Three elderly homes
Every year our church school celebrates Santa Lucia Day by visiting convalescent homes and singing for the folks who live there. It is always moving to see a group of bright-eyed children singing their hearts out for folks who are struggling through their last days. Today, at the first home, a toothless woman swayed in the front row in her wheelchair, singing out every word to every Christmas song–even the ones the kids sang in Latin. She was moved by the music, and I was moved by her.
At the next home a man who has lost his speech conducted the kids from the front row. He waved his hands in participation and the kids just smiled and kept right on singing… In the back row, yet another woman in a wheelchair snuggled with a bright pink and well-loved monkey. She waved the monkey’s hand at my son, then snuggled her chin back into the safety of the monkey’s chest while the music played on…
And lastly we were blessed to spend a few minutes with some beloved parishioners, one who is blind. You could just feel him soaking up the sounds of the children–his eyes closed, but his face completely absorbed. Every year we come into this sanctuary of a home, where two old but very wise friends spend their days. The smell in the home is one of hope and love; hard to describe. I hope the kids felt it as much as I did. It’s probably what made them sing so boldly despite the fact that it had been a very long morning…
The ginger snaps were a small hit–wrapped in their red ribbons… But the music! The music made the day, stirring some straight to song, and me straight to tears.
May your final days, as we move toward Christ’s nativity, be filled with song and melodies, and maybe even a few ginger snaps :)…
The Woman and the Wheat 
I’ve already been feeling extra emotional today (thank you, hormones!), and this post made me watery eyed. It sounds like a truly wonderful time.
What a lovely post Jane! Thank you for sharing this special tradition.