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On Thursday, I toured senior housing places with my dad and one of them sits right next to a park that we love. So naturally, that night Jesse, Riley and I went to hang out there and enjoy the warm weather. I hope it's here to stay, but you never know in Minnesota as it was cold and snowy the week before.
While my dad's in no rush to move, he wants to check out his options just in case. His brother had to unexpectedly move into assisted living and my dad doesn't want to be in that situation. I did some research based on what my dad told me he was looking for and set up tours for three places near my house. One of his doctors and the hospital is in my neighborhood so he thought it was a good place to be. Plus, I'd be nearby so I'd be able to visit more.
Each place we looked at had it's pro's and con's so there wasn't a clear winner, but as I noted, one of them is right next to this park so it gets bonus points for that. A lot of them have great amenities, but often they were things my dad couldn't care less about (pool, library, men's card clubs). Not many of these places are going to have opportunities for cutting wood or tinkering in the garage.
A couple days after our visit I asked my dad his thoughts now that he'd had some time to sleep on it and he said "one of the things I noticed was that everyone in those places are old". Lol, yes dad, they are and so are you.
But I got what he meant as we saw a lot of people with canes or walkers. I pointed out that we might not have seen the more active ones and noted that the folks getting off the shuttle at one of the places looked quite sprite. I'm not sure he was buying it.
I think one of these places will be good for my dad if he can find like minded people to hang out with - to be able to build a social circle. In the meantime, I'm glad he's still able to be in his home as he's still active and strong. Plus I like being able to visit him there. I'm sure we'll all make our adjustments when the time comes, but for now we'll take each day as it is.
So, we really ARE neighbors - cool! Our family has just discovered Wolfe Park and love it, too. Did you see they tore it down yesterday (April 18) and are rebuilding the playground? Suppose to open May 1.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sad to think about your dad having to leave his beloved home and garage but I'm sure he'll find plenty more things he likes about a senior community once the time comes. My gpa made a similar move last year and fought it at first (he called it his "hotel" - ha!) but is now really finding his groove with the various card groups and get togethers. Hoping the same for your dad.
Wolfe park being redone made me think of another couple parks you might want to check out now that you're in the area. You may know of these, but we love Oak Hill park - two playgrounds (one for toddlers), a splash pad, and an ice rink in the winter. Christmas lights don the trees from November to March. There is a new park in Hopkins (7 W to a left on Blake road, a couple blocks on the left). This park is a little different than the typical parks so I would recommend checking it out.
DeleteOh, and I know you usually go to the cabin on the weekends, but there is a kite fly event at Lousiana Oaks this Saturday from 12-4. Free kites are given to the kids.
Ok, I'll stop now!
What? I had no idea they were tearing down the playground. At least it will open again soon. I liked what they had so hopefully it's just as fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience with your grandpa. I know the transition will be hard so it's good to hear about other experiences.