This is written by a resident at Villa St. Benedict:
"Polly and Ken have done WHAT?" "What's Wrong?" "Has Ken had some bad news about his health?" "Is Polly giving up her business?"
All of these questions and more we heard after we started telling our friends about our decision to sell our home of 39 years and move to a CCRC. Our two boys, now grown with families and careers of their own, were actually relieved, after the initial shock.
There were plenty of reasons for us to make this move. Polly has done Estate/Moving sales for 38 years and almost every family she worked for that moved to a retirement community said, "We should have done this 10 years ago." Part of our decision was based on that very thought. We are at that "10 year stage." Health history on both sides, both min and Polly's played another part in our decision. But even more significant were the immediate things we were facing: The house needed to be totally updated in decorating, carpeting, upholstering, and maintenance. Earlier in my live, I did all of the wall papering and painting. But time moves ever onward, and I could no longer do the decorating. It had been 15 years since we had done a complete job, even to the extent of major remodeling to the kitchen and living-room. We had a contractor do that remodeling. (It took 9 months for the work to be completed.)
The logical thought was that even if we went to the expense to update, how long would we be in this house? And, more significantly, anyone who would by the house, freshly updated, would most likely change it anyway.
We had also decided that we did not want to make a move to a condo and "down-size' twice, as many as our friends had done. Why go through that aggravation? We knew what our goal was and were determined to reach it. Thus I undertook the BIG STEP, and started to look at alternatives. We both knew that we were not ready for an "apartment atmosphere" as our condo decision had proved, and we wanted to continue to be able to travel and move about freely. We liked the privacy that a villa or cottage provided.
After much research, I came to the conclusion that a CCRC was in our future. I began in April 2008 visiting facilities that offered the accommodations we felt were important to us. Some facilities offered only apartment living. A few others had both apartments and villas or cottages. I moved toward this arrangement. At first I was very interested in a facility where friends had moved. It was close to our family and had cottages that were very nice. Unfortunately, there was a two year waiting list and perhaps a move to an apartment before a cottage would be available. We did not want to be involved in two moves and having to store belongings for a cottage. Finally, I found a community that was only 10 miles from our home. It actually put us closer to both our sons who live in the area. Polly and I toured the various offerings and liked the arrangement. It was early summer and we were now into our summer home and the usual guests that arrive. During this time Polly and I had decided that we should make a commitment and get on with the move. We made a trip from Holland, MI to tour the community. We were impressed and found that it offered us the plan that we had been looking for. In fact, it solidified our plans and we moved with great speed to empty our house and select only those items we really needed. In less than a month, we moved out, Polly ran an Estate/Moving Sale and we MOVED!
After a year, we looked back at all that took place and marvel at how right this decision was and still is.
Our acceptance in the new "community" by the other residents and staff could not have been smoother. We have maintained our friendships from our former hometown and church, and have entertained both family and friends using the amenities available to us here. And, Polly is still running her her Estate Sale business full time.
For us, being in our early 70's puts us among some of the younger residents here. It makes no difference as the new friends we have made here have welcomed us and we find them to be very delightful and fun to be with. We share past experiences of family and work. We find these folks to be extremely interesting and stimulating.
All in all, I must say, that this move, albeit most ambitious, was the wisest decision we could have made!
