Carol Yanda
We hear “Carol of the Bells.” Sing “Deck the Halls” with its quaint direction to “troll the ancient yuletide carol.” The Peanuts cartoon characters croon, “Christmas time is near, carols everywhere.” Dickens’ famous ghost story is titled, “A Christmas Carol.”
Carol Yanda has often heard her name repeated in Christmas songs, and it’s a coincidence about which people often remark.
“I just let it go by,” she said quietly earlier this month at the Greenery Specialty Care Center in Canonsburg.
If she could choose a particularly meaningful piece during the holidays, it would be music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”
This lady has a musical name, and that’s appropriate for someone who has a musician for a husband.
“I’m January John,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
Carol Yanda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease after she had back surgery three years ago. A July Observer-Reporter story told of the organ and piano concert John Yanda performed at Jefferson Avenue United Methodist Church, where he is organist, in his wife’s honor.
Until the wheelchair became part of her daily routine, she’d be at home making last-minute preparations for the holiday while her husband was playing at Christmas Eve services.
But trips home, or anywhere, are becoming more difficult for Carol.
“She has a hard time getting in or out of the car,” he said. “She can’t get her feet to move the way she wants them to.”
From days gone by, she recalled baking her specialty, Amish sugar cookies. She’d roll the dough into balls, flattening them a bit with a fork and spangling them with red or green sugar or sprinkles that those in Western Pennsylvania call “jimmies.”
Carol Yanda holds dear Christmas memories. When she lived in Shaler Township with her parents, her dad made a Christmas village populated with tiny people and placed a piece of metal as a centerpiece that served as the village pond. Later, she painted buildings for her grandchildren, Hayley, Morgan and Gracyn.
Asked how she’ll be spending Christmas this year, she echoed many a sentiment that are part of seasonal songs. “Home, if I can stay,” she said.