A few weeks ago I was on a bus with a group of seniors with early dementia at my place of work. One of them had grown up in Grand Rapids, downtown, and was from an African American neighborhood. As we cruised through fruitful farmland and small towns on the shores of clear lakes, my friend Betsy was drinking it all in. As I helped her off the bus and back into the dementia unit she was smiling contentedly. “All my life I’ve waited to see fields of corn and beans and beautiful towns and lakes, and today my wish came true. Thank you , thank you for inviting me!”

Thank you, Betsy, for reminding me to stop and be grateful as I drive around distractedly through such beauty.  To think that someone arrived in their ninth decade of life never having seen fields and lakes. You never know with dementia, but something about her reaction rang as truth. Her gratitude and peace filled me also.

At coldwater studio we are finally setting up the printing press, shelving, and two desks in the newly remodelled space. This coming week the children’s art classes will be held at Caledonia CRC on 100th and M37. Several hundred children have registered for the Master Arts Camp I’m told. The Painting and Mimosas on Friday evenings will run this Friday and weekly into August. We have room for more!

I also offer private art lessons to seniors at home. I have experience with the Montessori method of teaching, applied to those with dementia, and years of experience with care and enrichment for the aged. Painting is such a calming activity. I know there are elderly parents being cared for at home in the Caledonia community so pass this on!