Compact Elegance Making The Move To A Retirement Community
Many couples in their later years find themselves making the move out of their longtime home and into a retirement community.
How well they adjust to their new surroundings depends on their attitude, and whether they view the move as another stage in life’s series of adventures.
Jean and Arley Thompson did. “At this age there aren’t many adventures,” says Jean. “Go into the move in this spirit.”
The Thompsons live in an eightplex at Riverview Center for Retirement Living. “My husband and I both wanted a simpler life and fewer responsibilities,” Jean explains. “It’s as nice and good a home as we’ve ever had.”
Their reason for moving echoes that of others who have chosen retirement home living.
Says Frances Wurzburg, who lives in a duplex at Riverview Center: “It’s wonderful I no longer have the responsibility of maintaining large gardens. And there comes a time when a small garden bed or even two or three pots is quite enough.”
Catherine Bernhard, who lives in the Rockwood Retirement Community, agrees, “I’m delighted to be free of the responsibilities of a large house and garden.”
Bernhard had to go through a period of adjustment. “At first I missed my neighbors,” she says, “but now several of them are living here, too. How lucky can I get?”
Many residents of retirement communities appreciate the recreational opportunities available to them: bowling, pool, card games, wood-working, art classes. There is often a piano available for residents to play as well as a well-stocked library for perusal. And there are tours to places of interest and transportation to medical facilities and supermarkets.
There often are volunteer opportunities, as well. Vera Rodman, a resident at the Park Place Retirement Community, says, “We’re told over and over again, ‘This is your home’ and we do feel that it is. That’s why most of us help each other, and do some of the things that we have done in our former homes - maybe weed the gardens or set the tables or clerk in our small grocery store.”
Being part of the community also offers a sense of security for residents such as Helly Brown, who lives in one of Waterford on South Hill’s duplexes. “Perhaps the best part of living in my new home is knowing that someone will be checking on me,” she says. “If I don’t come to dinner, for example, I’ll get a call, either from the staff or new friends who live here, too, asking if I’m all right. For me, life here is the next best thing to living in my own home.”
Residents enjoy their privacy, as well. Coco Otterness, who lives with her husband at Rockwood Retirement Community, said, “Having my own kitchen and being able to cook some of our meals makes our apartment more homelike. And we like to vary our meals routine - eating here or going out to eat. This makes our new life more like our old one.”
Cherished possessions also help ease the transition to a retirement home. Residents advise others considering this move to bring with them photographs, well-read books, albums, knickknacks - everything that was an important part of their past.
Take what’s important to you and don’t worry about all the things that won’t fit into your new home, they advise. It’s all part of adjusting to this next new adventure.
Myrna McQuown, who lives in the Holman Gardens Retirement Home, sums it up this way: “It was hard to give up some of the furniture and things that had been part of my past, but it didn’t take very long to learn to be content without them.”