I Feel at Home Here at Kendal

I was ready and eager to move here! Our big old house, which was beautiful and much loved, constantly needed some repair or update. It was becoming increasing difficult to get the walks shoveled, the lawn mowed, and the weeds pulled. Furthermore, after working in and out of the home for most of my life, I wanted more time to read and volunteer.


Also, I had worked as a financial planner and many times some person nearing retirement age would come in for planning of his/her own and tell stories about helping aged parents and stressing out about what should be done, usually whether or not to insist mother or father go to a nursing home. Sometimes it meant uprooting older people at a time when it was harder to make friends and adjust to different surroundings. I soon made the decision that my children were never going to worry about what to do with mom. I would make that decision myself. We were fortunate that Kendal, a CCRC, was being planned right here in our community. However, we did do a thorough investigation of its finances and services which did not come up wanting.



The hard part was downsizing! I think I spent the better part of the year going through stuff in the attic, garage, and basement. My husband was a big collector and accumulated lots of family history items. We also had antique furniture from his family. I could spend a whole "blog" on just that subject. We have a friend whose work is interior design, so we gave him the floor plan of our Kendal cottage and decided together what pieces would work where, and then invited the children to choose from the rest. John and children decided what documents to keep and we contacted different historical societies to find out what interested them. When we brought some items to the OSU Historical Society, we were given a lovely tour of the archives.

When moving day came, and our furniture was in place, I really felt at home! Our antiques contrasted beautifully with the contemporary design. We were among the first residents in April, 2005. We had no sidewalks to the main building and the trees and shrubs were still being planted. And then we watched our surroundings become just lovely! We have growing trees and shrubs and residents have planted gardens in public places as well as around cottages and villas. I love to see the creativity of each gardner in the areas around the porches.

Aanother time I will tell you how I spend my days and weeks. I do have time to read now and belong to two book groups, and am participating in other volunteer activities. Lawn care, snow shoveling, and window washing are someone else's concern! It is just great! We gave a good life.