A Letter from L. A.

Dear Reader,

There’s something about a milestone birthday that makes a person stop and think about the future. We had successfully reached 80 years of age.  We were still working in our business, but thinking about selling it. We had lived in our Wilmette home for 46 years and had raised three children there. We decided it was time. Time for a new plan. Let us tell you about the decision we made to live at Westminster Place and have never regretted a single day.

We decided to check out retirement communities in the area. Our children thought, “You’re fine. You’re too young for that!” Though we were in good health, at 80, the risk goes up for something to happen. A fall, an illness. Something.

Despite our home being a single-level ranch, it still required a good deal of outside maintenance and repairs. Finding good contractors was an ongoing headache. Our neighborhood was getting younger and younger, and we were getting older and older. A condo wasn’t the answer, because we would still be responsible for the maintenance inside our home.

We thought about moving to South Bend, IN, to be near one of our daughters and her family. But we didn’t know anyone else there, and at our age, it’s hard to leave a familiar area, make new friends, and find new doctors.

We looked at 11 retirement communities in March 2007 and frankly, liked Westminster Place best. It was well established and had a wonderful reputation. Since we weren’t sure about near-term availability, we decided to put our name on the list at three places to get things started. 

In April, we got a call from Westminster Place about an available apartment in a mid-rise building. It had almost the same square footage as our house, and we would be able to make changes in the décor to suit us. We decided to take it. In May, we put our house up for sale, and it sold the next day!

By now you can tell that we’re planners. But 46 years in a house is half a lifetime. What would we take? What would we need? Westminster Place had a long list of professionals to help with various things. From the list, we called a senior relocation service that specializes in helping you organize, pack up and move. With their tips and suggestions, we were able to quickly give or throw away the things we didn’t need to take with us. The result? We were in our new home by July.

It’s been a new lease on life for us. We were stagnating in our house and didn’t want to become isolated and dependent on our children. We have met more people and done more things in the last six months than we have in the past ten years. There are book reviews, luncheons, mixers, movies, musical programs, trips and more. Dinner companions always appear when we decide to walk over to the dining room. We feel revitalized, secure and have made many new friendships.

What we did ensured our own peace of mind and that of our children, who don’t live in the area. They don’t need to be concerned about our well-being. We have lots of support here, both physical and emotional. Westminster Place offers security as well as the full continuum of care. And, if either of us ever needed healthcare services in the future, the other wouldn’t have to drive to visit.
 
A wonderful discovery was the quality of the employees at Westminster Place. It’s amazing. Everyone is so warm, caring and most accommodating. Many of them have worked at Westminster Place for more than 20 years.

We hope you'll consider coming to visit Westminster Place. Do call 847-570-3422 to set up a time to visit.

Sincerely,

R. and L. A.