My aunt remembered the farewell song she used to sing

My maternal aunt has dementia. It's been progressing over the last few years and it's taken all the things that made her so wonderful and glamorous.

It's taken her fashion sense, her love of makeup, her beautiful stories, her fantastic cooking, and her endless generosity. It's taken her ability to care for herself, her devotion to her family, and her hobbies.

It's taken so much, so it's so incredibly special when we discover something it hasn't taken.

Every time we'd leave her house to go back home to the US, she used to sing the farewell song she learned at Polish summer camps when she was a child. The camp would sing it on the last day, to say goodbye on a happy note. We'd sing it together with tears in our eyes as we said goodbye.

This year, as my mom and I were leaving her house, my aunt didn't sing it, so I started to sing it instead. My aunt joined in, followed by my mom and cousin, and when we got to the second verse, my aunt sang it by herself because everyone else was quietly sobbing.

She remembered the farewell song. For a moment, it was like we had her back. For a moment, she was herself again.

It didn't take the farewell song. Not yet. And we got to sing it with her again.

I miss her, more than any words can express.