Laurel Lake

Music is a Healer. It communicates without words. It touches people in real, wonderful ways. I know this in my heart, and I see it when I play.

When I was growing up, I had a best friend, Karen. We listened to music together, we giggled over boys, we dreamed about what life would be for us. Just like girls do. We were in each others weddings. We raised our kids together. We should be coping with our empty nests together.

But my friend Karen has Huntington's Disease, a progressive disease of the neurological system that runs in families. In her family, four out of six kids has Huntington's. One is already gone and the other three all live at a home in Lee, Mass which specializes in the care of people with Huntington's disease, Laurel Lake.

Karen and her brothers Paul and John are visited a couple times a month by their sister, Suzanne and Karen's daughter, Jen. Up until pretty recently, I have had the guilt of not going to visit them, but felt that it would be too hard....you know, all the ways that we convince ourselves not to do something we should do....she won't know me, I can't talk to her, what do I tell her??? When I visited for the first time in several years after the Garbage Trail walk this year, all those things were bothersome, but I could not deny that she very much knew who I was and appreciated my time with her!!! But I still can't TALK and UNDERSTAND and that drives me batty...

But I do carry a guitar. I can sing. And all the songs I do are old songs that Karen and I loved as kids....

I mentioned to Jen, who mentioned to Suzanne that perhaps I should go with them some Sunday with my guitar, because then I would be able to DO something Karen might appreciate....and they emailed me with 'how about this weekend' and 'we will drive' and 'don't worry, we will just take over a room and no one will mind' and other ways of calming my nerves right down....

In other words, they took away ALL of my 'yes but'....and I found myself, yesterday, driving to Laurel Lake with them and Suzanne's MIL....a great group of women, laughing and joking all the way...

Suzanne was in control, I told her....whenever she thought I should play, just tell me....so we collected Karen, and Paul and John and headed to a room where she said, this fine? and i started playing....

Wow, music does it. People heard and came and thanked us for singing and playing. Paul looked me in the face and gave me his version of smiling. John fell asleep (I was told that was a GOOD sign, he sleeps when he is feeling good and comfortable). And Karen....she recognized and tried to sing along with many of the songs and kept looking at me with amazement...I have gotten a bit better than the last time she heard me!!!! When we went for a break, she was upset until I told her we would come back and do some more....It was clear that the music was moving in that place and giving people joy-I was honored that it was moving through me to them, making those folks feel a little brighter....

This is what is good about music, it touches and heals and makes people feel good. It is SO COOL to have a little piece of that, to share the music out like that. Music is meant to be shared. Give it out....