“I want to dance.”  We cue some waltzes.  Melba struggles up from the couch gripping her walker.  She transfers one hand to my shoulder and we begin to sway to the music.  I recall dancing with Melba 36 years ago when Ellen and I wed, a string band playing contras and waltzes in a log building.  She danced squares with Willis after the kids left home.  She danced at the Senior Center when Willis was gone.  Now she is 90 and remembers neither the year nor the day, and not all her sentences come out whole or sensible.  She wants to dance.  Happy birthday Melba.

Melba and friends on her 90th birthday