What can happen when nothing is planned

It's amazing what can happen when plans fall away. Yesterday at the nursing home where I work, one of the residents wanted me to bring my guitar to hear room to sing. It turned out that I had forgotten to bring my guitar to work but I said we could sing without the guitar. She seemed skeptical about this idea but as we found out, I think it allowed more to happen.

When I came to her room for our music session, I suggested we could sing her favorite song, "Amazing Grace." I wasn't sure if she would do it without the guitar. Sometimes I think having a guitar is like a prop that allows people to open up more. Without it, there is no room to hide.

So when she started to sing with such conviction and gusto - I joined her and we had a great time. After we finished singing "Amazing Grace," she told me she had a CD of her favorite songs. It took some time to get the CD player working but once we did,  I loved listening with her.

We sang along to, "You Are My Sunshine," "I'll Fly Away," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken, " and others. Listening to the CD together brought back such fond memories of  when I was in high school and friends and I would spend a whole afternoon listening to albums. This was the thing to do! A friend would call and say, "I just got a new Jimi Hendrix album" and I'd say, "I'll be right over." and we'd listen to that album over and over again.

Do people listen to music together like that anymore? I loved how LPs (stands for "long playing" records) were a series of songs that told a story. LPs like Moody Blues, "Days of Future Passed," Carole King's, "Tapestry, " Stevie Wonder's, "Talking Book." The A side was one part of the story and the B side another. I loved spending time thinking about what the overall message was. Many LPs then had a theme. Now I feel that CDs are more of a collection of separate songs by an artist, rather than a connecting story.

Anyway, this was a great memory for me and I loved that the fact that I forgot my guitar led to an even more interesting and fun music session with Mrs. G__. I learned more about the kind of music she likes for next time when I do bring my guitar.

Today's photo is of a fall image that I love. I love the leaves and pine cones and colors all around me.
How are you doing out there? Thanks for reading!