Recording Cherished Moments with a Music Box
Memories of Accompanying My Mother Through Her Final Journey in Palliative Care
Elder Mr. Weng (Taiwan)
Recording Cherished Moments with a Music Box
Memories of Accompanying My Mother Through Her Final Journey in Palliative Care
Elder Mr. Weng (Taiwan)
Too long to read? We’ve prepared a podcast version so you can listen and follow the journey of a devoted son accompanying his mother through ten years of home-based palliative care, and how he used a custom and programmable music box (Muro Box) to express gratitude to the doctors and nurses who cared for them.
Friends who know me well call me “Elder Mr. Weng.” A few years ago, I served as a caregiver for a home-based palliative care case at a hospital. Whenever I reflect on accompanying my mother through the final stage of her life, the deepest feeling in my heart is not sorrow or heaviness, but profound gratitude.
I am grateful to heaven for giving my mother the blessing of warmth, thankful to the homeowner for providing a safe and familiar place where we could live together with dignity, and most of all, deeply appreciative of the hospital’s palliative care team for their professionalism and support, which allowed me to be fully present and at peace while accompanying the mother who gave me life, nurtured me, and loved me, through her final journey.
Memories and Inspiration from Compassionate Care
Over these ten years of caregiving, what I learned was not just how to care, but how to truly accompany. Home-based palliative care allowed me to be with my mother through the final stage of her life in the most comfortable way—without intrusion, without pain, without fear—only dignity, warmth, and abundant love. Having the opportunity to meet and trust Dr. Song and Nurse Lin has grown into more than just a patient-caregiver relationship; it has become a genuine “cherished bond filled with warmth.”
Discovering the Music Box: Where Memories Become Tangible
To preserve this warm bond forever, a little over six months ago, I happened upon the existence of an app-controlled music box. All along, I had a deep desire to transform the gratitude and memories tucked away in my heart into a tangible keepsake. In that moment, I finally felt that the music box offered a real possibility to make this dream come true.
The engraved text on the music box’s nameplate could already convey my feelings after reflecting on these past years, but I struggled to conceive a visual design that could be intuitively felt and carry the weight of emotion. I simply couldn’t find the right direction.
The Meaning Behind the Nameplate Design: Japanese White-eye Nest Symbolizing Companionship
Fortunately, about a month ago, Nurse Lin mentioned during a conversation that Dr. Song was busy preparing for the anniversary celebration of the hospital’s palliative care ward. The event included several hand-drawn theme illustrations created by Dr. Song that were being finalized. I reached out to Dr. Song to request any illustrations that could be shared publicly, without revealing my intended use, so I could select one for engraving on the music box nameplate.
One illustration immediately caught my eye and captivated me: a heart feeding Japanese White-eyes in a nest, their mouths open waiting to be fed. At that moment, the image instantly symbolized “ten years of wholehearted loving care” in my mind. It perfectly resonated with my journey of retiring early to devote myself entirely to caring for my mother over ten years.
I chose this illustration and centered the Chinese phrase (A Cherished Bond Filled with Warmth) beneath it. The illustration and phrase are placed on the right side of the nameplate, representing the “core expression of love” in this engraving. The English phrase also carries the same theme, expressing my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who accompanied me throughout this journey with my mother.
A Deeper Meaning
Image Source:https://www.pexels.com/zh-tw/photo/30969836/
Later, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Song and learned that the theme illustration she designed for the hospital’s palliative care ward anniversary carries a deeper layer of meaning and blessing for palliative care:
“Outside the hospital’s palliative care ward is a small garden, a peaceful refuge where patients, family members, and medical staff can find rest and reconnect with nature.
Above the shaded corridor leading to the garden, generations of Japanese White-eyes have nested—diligently building nests, laying eggs, hatching, growing, and eventually leaving to start new journeys—coming and going, just like life itself.”
The Music Box: A Warm “Nest” That Holds Memories
Image Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silvereye_nest_feeding_chicks.jpg
對於安寧病房即將到來的週年，若說愛則太過籠統、若提幸福則與死亡相左、若寫離別則太過傷感，因此以常見而樸實的綠繡眼為主角，象徵著普通的我們，新的旅途與新的相遇誕生新的生命，生命以愛灌溉得以茁壯，每段離別則又會帶來新的開始，如此往復、生生不息，以溫暖的鳥巢穩穩托住所有人生的因緣與相伴，帶著我們對所有相逢的人與事最大的祝福，願每段相知皆有意義，願每段回憶照亮人心，願每個靈魂得以安寧。」，相對而言，這音樂盒本身，就是一個為記憶而存在可以穩穩托住我們溫暖的鳥巢。
I am very proud that this engraved nameplate is a collaborative masterpiece between Dr. Song, Nurse Lin, and myself. The text combines their words, letters, blessings, and encouragement, distilled into the phrase “A Cherished Bond Filled with Warmth.” The illustration of a warm nest holding open-mouthed Japanese White-eyes waiting to be fed reflects my own heartfelt experience of caring for my mother over ten years. With this music box, I finally have a way to preserve this warmth and the deep bond it represents forever.