Dad has suddenly come alive with old stories

nickname

Registered User
Dec 27, 2016
3
0
Dad has dementia, he normally potters around or sits dozily with his sunglasses on. Yesterday he came in the room and in a loud voice did a german greeting rhyme. It was unnerving and he started to tell stories and speak different languages that he had learnt at the end of the war. We engaged him and had good conversations and even a sing along. I asked mum what has she had or had not given him. No changes there. I guess old memories I have never heard him talk about have come to his mind. I was good to get engaging conversation and life stories. I guess this is a stage where old good memories are top of his mind. Any experiences of this anyone? and advice?
 

jugglingmum

Registered User
Jan 5, 2014
7,085
0
Chester
NOt had any experience of this, although my mum has always seemed to live in the past.

Very nice to hear about his life that you hadn't heard before.
 

janey106

Registered User
Dec 10, 2013
139
0
Hi, my Mum is in 6/7 th year of mixed A & VasDem and struggles with many conversations but loves talking about the past and becomes lucid, animated etc. I know for a fact she mixes some genuine memories up but it really doesn't matter. Every Sunday dinner time when Mum and Dad are with us we make a point of talking about someone or something to do with the past and have the iPad handy to bring up a song, film clip, headline, etc and Mum loves it. Last week I remembered her love of Glen Campbell when I was a child so we had a great sing-a-long! She could talk about making the family dinners, old recipes, the house etc and listening to Glen on the 'forces radio' programme.

We had previously made up a CD of the music, films and stories we associated with our parents and growing up (downloaded songs from iTunes) and made a scrap book with all lyrics and a memory 'box' on each page of who remembered it and why ...5 years on it still brings tears of joy and stories and memories. It was also amazing to hear which songs the grandchildren remembered, one of them remembered Nana and Gramps dancing arm in arm in the lounge to Moon River by Andy Williams when she was about 6 so that was her favourite memory!

I think I get a lot from hearing Mum chat about the old days, helps to remind me who is still there behind the dementia mask. Like you were, some of her memories ( and 'unexpected disclosures'! ) are surprising but I guess we all have little secrets! Enjoy would be my advice
 

nickname

Registered User
Dec 27, 2016
3
0
Hi, my Mum is in 6/7 th year of mixed A & VasDem and struggles with many conversations but loves talking about the past and becomes lucid, animated etc. I know for a fact she mixes some genuine memories up but it really doesn't matter. Every Sunday dinner time when Mum and Dad are with us we make a point of talking about someone or something to do with the past and have the iPad handy to bring up a song, film clip, headline, etc and Mum loves it. Last week I remembered her love of Glen Campbell when I was a child so we had a great sing-a-long! She could talk about making the family dinners, old recipes, the house etc and listening to Glen on the 'forces radio' programme.

We had previously made up a CD of the music, films and stories we associated with our parents and growing up (downloaded songs from iTunes) and made a scrap book with all lyrics and a memory 'box' on each page of who remembered it and why ...5 years on it still brings tears of joy and stories and memories. It was also amazing to hear which songs the grandchildren remembered, one of them remembered Nana and Gramps dancing arm in arm in the lounge to Moon River by Andy Williams when she was about 6 so that was her favourite memory!

I think I get a lot from hearing Mum chat about the old days, helps to remind me who is still there behind the dementia mask. Like you were, some of her memories ( and 'unexpected disclosures'! ) are surprising but I guess we all have little secrets! Enjoy would be my advice

Thanks for sharing those ideas
Yep, I'm gonna embrace it, he never spoke about the war previously.