I’ve never had Alzheimer’s disease, nor do I have firsthand experience with a family member suffering from this disease. But if you’ve had a baby, you know exactly how to support the pregnant woman in your group. Sometimes in a homogenous group there are three or four babies being born all around the same time, and members feel the strain of meeting those needs. Shepherding a group felt easier to me when everyone was at a similar age and stage. I hugged my friend and thought about how our small group might support our eldest couple on the difficult road ahead. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you all for weeks now because I know he is getting worse,” Stella whispered as tears welled in her blue eyes. “He started getting lost years ago when he was driving home from work. Sometimes John remembered to give out the Werther’s candies to our kids, and sometimes they lay forgotten in his pocket these days. Sometimes his signature smile was gone and he seemed irritated or grouchy. He couldn’t place us, although we’d been meeting together for two years. John’s behavior had been erratic for months. She wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t already figured out. “It’s Alzheimer’s Disease,” she confided. Intergenerational community is more complex and far more rewarding. Here is what I can say now about this experience, with a bit more perspective: We have been part of this intergenerational community now for three years. We decided to give it a try because we connected well with several of the couples. I’m not sure this is going to be a fit for us. My first thought? Awkward! This is not what I expected. What we found was a much more blended group of couples, ranging in age from their thirties to their seventies.
We arrived the first night with our young kids in tow, eager to connect with other couples in a similar age and stage. Several years ago, we were invited to join a small group which met weekly on Friday nights.
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