Rumors and Phase II

For well over a year the Kendal community has been following the development of plans for Kendal's expansion. Not surprisingly, an undertaking of this sort -- we call it "Phase II" -- has been concentrating the attention of residents. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the middle of this coming summer. Once Phase II is under way, it will bring construction machinery with its attendant surprises and inconveniences to the community; and, when the project is completed, it will have brought us new neighbors, wider opportunities, and an expanded range of activities. We can all anticipate -- with shifting combinations of joy, excitement, puzzlement, and irritation -- eighteen transformative months.

No one can quarrel with the need for expansion. Envisioned from the inception of the Kendal at Granville project, it will involve building over twenty new apartment units and adding significantly to that section of our campus that provides care for those in assisted living or in need of skilled nursing. We will also get a badly-needed Gathering Room. Improvements of this sort are predictable for any CCRC as it moves from its moment of opening into its era of developing maturity, and in carrying them out Kendal at Granville is declaring to the world that it is right on course as it advances from its infancy to its -- shall we say? -- adolescence. (I'm a hopeless addict of metaphors.)

From the beginning of the planning process, and at its very heart, there has been a commitment to a sharing of views among administrators, residents, trustees, architects, and project engineers -- all to the end of getting wise and frequent feedback from the various camps that have a stake or an interest in the project. This turns out to have been a smart way of proceeding. Happily, it's also very much the Kendal way. But as we've recently discovered, we can never be too attentive to the need to practice openness.

What has happened is this. As our groundbreaking approaches and excitement mounts, so does curiosity -- and curiosity feeds the human propensity for attending to rumors. And so we've rediscovered the old truth about big undertakings: it's crucial to get accurate information about the project out in order to forestall the rumors -- there are delays! oh no, there is a cancelation! -- before they acquire wings of their own.

I wouldn't be noting this down if we hadn't slipped up a bit. But having now chased down a few rumors and identified new or unused avenues for getting accurate information out to residents, we think we are back on top of the situation. From now on we'll be better at using our newsletter, our closed-circuit TV channel, our bulletin boards, our regular meetings, and postings to our boxes to keep the community updated. We all have enough drama in our lives without having to cope with misleading tales about our future. As is the Kendal way, we will allow truth, not confusion, to bind our community.

Visiting the Fabric Artists

I had a heartwarming experience last Thursday. I had often wondered what went on upstairs in room 228 on Thursday mornings. I would see these women with their big bags quietly go upstairs about 10:00 AM and emerge about an hour later. So a few days ago I followed them to a cozy room where chairs circled the room. Each wooden chair was of different design, a colorful rug covered the floor, and shelves of books and a table of magazines were against the wall. On one wall were hung two quilted vests which were made by Dee Richards. Dee had been a member of the group before her death this year. I was invited to have a seat and observe and listen.

This group appropriately calls itself "Fabric Arts Group." Mary was just showing off her felt slippers which she made first by knitting large wool slippers and then shrinking them in hot water to the right size. I did not know before this was how felt was made. Terry as usual was using her little needle to so some intricate cross stitch on a tiny piece of fabric for the next holiday bazaar at her church. Larry was knitting a baby blanket for her future great-granddaughter. I was touched by the baby clothes which Shirley and Margaret were making. Shirle was knitting a very small pink cap for a tiny newborn and Margaret was knitting a bright yellow baby blanket. These items will be donated to "Touching Little Lives", a nonprofit charity that provides clothes for premature babies and needy babies. I was given a tablet which showed how many items had been made this year. Shirle alone made 29! Wanda was just there socializing because her tarpal tunnel surgery prevented her from doing her usual cross stitch.

When I first came into the room, I interrupted a conversation about Ohio State University's Football Team. Larry thought the punishment was too harsh for the five suspended players, so there was a good discussion that. I have to add this part, just so you know that these women do not gossip when they get together. Instead, they discuss important current news events.

The last thing I was told is that a big welcome is extended to all who knit, weave, crochet, needlepoint, quilt, or even just mend. Emily has done mending for many residents, including some for me. Emily also made bags for the residents of the health care center to attach to their walkers. I so much enjoyed my morning. Please drop in to visit just as I did.

Eloise