How Could I Call Another Place Home?
I was so happy to get a call from an old friend who also serves our aging population one afternoon. She was calling to tell me about a wonderful couple who wanted to plan for the future and see what options they had as their home was becoming too much to care for. I enjoyed visiting their home and knew that this was more about discovering and learning so I made sure to reassure them that there is no rush in what we do and that they are in a great place for being proactive.
The husband was very against moving as he loved his home and he was very comfortable there. He was perfectly positioned on the golf course where he would spend watching the golfers play and bird dance in the morning. This made it very hard to imagine calling any other place a home. The wife was doing the majority of the household upkeep as he could no longer do it and she was starting to get worn out with her daily commitments.
After a wonderful morning coffee with them and their daughter spent educating them on different types of communities, payment models and care assistance, I asked if they would like to see any. We didn't have many options in the area they wanted to be close to the daughter but there were a couple. They said they would look but again reminded me that they didn't know when they would be ready. I wanted to show them a couple places, one that had all the bells and whistles and one that I felt might give them more privacy and the feeling of a home versus an apartment style feel. I knew we were likely to be looking at some other places down the road but most of them had a waitlist that they were slightly interested in. We saw both places, both in which they liked. I set up lunches at both places to get a feel for the food as this was the food they would be eating outside of what they cooked in their place.
It was a week after that I heard from this amazing couple that they never thought they would choose the second place I had recommended as it was older and didn't have all the bells and whistles but that there was something about it that the husband liked. It felt so meant to be as the only two bedroom they had available ended up being in the middle of a renovation, therefore the community offered to the couple to be part of the renovation, allowing them to pick out the flooring, paint colors, add additional cabinets and really make it a home. They put down the deposit and slowly started to transition their life. They never once felt rushed, they thanked me for showing them the place they would not have looked for themselves and can now truly enjoy life to the fullest. The husband has two patios with a covered area for each that backs to the green yard around the property. There were mature trees for bird watching and several places to go outside.
Thank you for allowing Maintain Me to be part of this journey with you!
-Chelsea