A senior center in Fort Worth hosted a ceremony this weekend where 15 couples renewed their vows for Valentine’s Day. The James L. West Center hosted the vow renewal at its day center in South Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
“This ceremony is not about remembering the past perfectly. It’s about honoring the bond that exists right now. This moment is a gift,” Holly Sturgill said as she led the ceremony.<\/p>\n
The James L. West Center is a nonprofit organization that provides care and support for people with dementia. Heather Macchietto, the director of the senior day program, says the organization also provides support and education for caregivers.<\/p>\n
“A lot of times caregivers feel they’re just a caregiver, but they need to understand this is one of the ways they’re showing love to their spouse,” she says.<\/p>\n
Macchietto says the center does not attempt to provide a cure for dementia but focuses on people’s comfort.<\/p>\n
“There’s love here, there’s joy in this building,” she says. “When people come here, they don’t come to die, they don’t come to sit around and do nothing. They come to live. We try to have a location where families can have family night so they don’t have to worry if they come in late, if their loved one has to go to the bathroom or shouts out something. They’re with people who get it and understand.”<\/p>\n
Employees set out a reception dinner with a wedding cake and welcomed the families of people who use the day program. Businesses donated money for the food, and Tammy at Cooper Street Bakery donated the cake.<\/p>\n
Macchietto says even as seniors who use the day program may have memory issues, the vow renewal can show a bond still exists.<\/p>\n
“We even have a couple who didn’t participate today. Part of the reason they chose not to is because the husband doesn’t always remember who the wife is,” she says. “But I was standing in the back and watched them. He was repeating the words to his wife. I just saw her eyes. They have those moments of clarity. It’s just like, ‘oh, my gosh.’ We just wanted to honor that for our folks.”<\/p>\n
More information about the center is available at https:\/\/www.jameslwest.org\/.<\/p>\n
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