50+ Lifestyles

Growing Older Does Not Mean Going Dormant!

By Mary Huebbe
Marketing Consultant
Ridgecrest Village

    A few years ago I thought I didn’t want to get much older.  I didn’t want to grow old because I thought aging was a bad thing. I had worked at Senior Communities, and it felt to me like they were just giving up. There were only a few people that would get involved in the activities, and they really didn’t seem to be happy. Their comments were usually “The Golden years really aren’t golden!”

Since then I have taken a job at Ridgecrest Village, and my thoughts have changed. I can’t wait to grow older; I want to move into a Senior Community that thrives. I have been able to do so many things with my residents, and they make http://ridgecrestvillage.org/assets/uploads/sliders/slideshow-homepage-03.jpgme feel alive. They have formed a family out of their community. If someone is hurting, they all hurt.  If there is joy, they share their joy. There are no exclusions like in High School. Everyone is welcome, and everyone is invited to everything.

A small group decided to put together a social activity in our Gazebo. In the beginning there were about five people involved, then the next week there were about ten. Last week when I was heading home, it was standing room only. One of the residents had to go get extra chairs from her cottage because so many people came out. It is just amazing to me to see so much community. They want to be active, and they want to have fun. I believe that is what makes our residents stay younger. That is for sure what I want for my future!

When I was younger, my parents used to take me to different places such as music programs, site seeing trips and football games. As I watch my senior community living their life, I see them doing the same things my parents took me to do. They go to Hawkeye games, to music programs, trips to a dairy farm and so much more. It brings all the joy from my childhood back, and I see the joy in their faces when they talk about the events. They have shown me that growing older doesn’t have to mean getting old.

Our residents at Ridgecrest Village still love life. They still go out and live it to its fullest. I hope when I get to their age, I can follow their example and enjoy my golden years as much as they do. They have given me even more to look forward to. If you would like to see what I am talking about, stop out on a Wednesday evening and look at our Gazebo area while it is still warm, or give us a call and set up a lunch tour with Bob Morrison at (563) 388-3431 or Bmorrison@Ridgecrestvillage.org or myself (Mary Huebbe) (563) 388-3215 Mhuebbe@Ridgecrestvillage.org and see what our Community is really like. It is our residents at Ridgecrest Village that makes us a home as well as a family.