Resident Diane Miller at Era Living's Gardens at Town Square retirement community joins Suzanne to talk about her story, why she moved into senior living, what surprised her most about moving in, the encouraging support she got from residents, and important things she was looking for in senior living.
Diane says, "I moved to Seattle when I was in high school. And after college I married my husband, who had been born and raised in Seattle. We had a wonderful home, but ... we had to change. There were signs of dementia coming, very faint signs, but we knew it was coming. And I also knew that my eyesight was changing and I would have to give up driving. We'd lived in a place where we needed a car, and maintenance was getting harder. I did not want my husband climbing up that ladder one more day, which men tend to do. And so it was time for us to look around, while we were in charge, while we made the decision, and we could make up our minds what to do with our things."
"One of the things that we that sold us here was that there's a lot of walking area. With fading eyesight, you need to be very careful where you walk. So being level was important, and we just had the freedom to come and go. We were in independent living, so that was our plan. It didn't turn out that way, but for two and a half years, that's the way it was. And we looked at several places. I think that's good to compare. I think one of the things that sold us here probably the most was the friendliness, not just of the staff, which was very friendly and very welcoming. But the residents themselves, and I think that spreads from the staff setting the example, and it was very easy to meet people. They were very, very welcoming and quickly got us connected with people, with activities. And that's another thing we have enjoyed so much. Not being able to drive, to keep up what we have been doing before, the activities that are offered are absolutely wonderful."
Diane says, "I think you need to recognize that it's gonna be an emotional time, but you have a lot of support system and, and we had some help, a lot of help from our sons and grandchildren. And so breaking up a home you lived in for 50 years with all your stuff, and all your junk, things you had to give up. We had time to think about that, to make some choices. And I think having that time of thinking about it was very helpful."
The Gardens at Town Square is located at 933 111th Ave NE, Bellevuw, WA 98004-4486.
Learn more:
The Gardens at Town Square: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/bellevue/
Era Living: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/
Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/
Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network:: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/
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