This blog was first published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, on June 30, 2024
As Dad and Mom entered their 90s they increasingly struggled maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the home they’d lived in for 60 years. Despite our urging they resisted moving to a senior residence. Although emotionally and physically draining we eventually had to move them to a senior residence. Mom died a year later and Dad enjoyed six pleasant years until his death last year.
![Sterile yard.](https://windingpathways.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/LollipopBushes-e1666998651780-300x225.jpg)
This yard offers little to wildlife.
Dad quickly made friends at the facility. The food was excellent, and the staff and fellow residents were helpful and caring. Although it met his basic needs Dad often expressed frustration that the senior residence lacked things he valued. The grounds were immaculately tended. Nary a blade of grass was out of place. It was a wildlife and native plant desert that frustrated a man who loved animals and natural diversity. Sidewalks bordered the manicured lawns but none traversed natural vegetation. Recycling was minimal and abundant waste was dumpstered. As a career teacher, Dad loved interacting with children. They were absent at his new home.
We turn 75 this year. As much as we love our home and yard we recognize that calendar pages advance and someday we may need to live where life is easier and, hopefully, pleasant. So, we’re researching.
Sterile Environments Lack Interest
Flyers advertising Corridor senior residences come to our mailbox, television, and computer. We’ve driven by some and toured a few. All seem well managed and fill basic needs, but few address important values Dad found lacking at his last home. And that we value.
The grounds of most senior residences are manicured and manipulated. Pristine. Even occasional ponds are lined with white rocks that communicate sterility. Where are the cattails? We crave grounds alive with wildlife and native plants, all accessible by rails winding past thickets and ponds.
Seeing photos of older people playing cornhole at their senior residence communicates boredom to us. Like Dad, we don’t just desire, but require, access to natural beauty. We know interacting with nature adds enjoyment and meaning to life…..as does recycling, composting, and gardening. We’ve yet to find a place in the Corridor that offers us a lifestyle we find attractive.
Catching Our Eye
An ad in SMITHSONIAN Magazine caught our eye. It featured lifestyles offered by facilities managed by the nonprofit Kendal, including one in Oberlin, Ohio. A June trip brought us nearby, so we stopped in.
As we entered the grounds and drove to their office we felt “at home.” Clover lawns proved they shun herbicides. Eight ponds sustained lilies and cattails as birds zoomed in front of our car, and trails penetrated natural areas. It was like a senior residence set in a nature center.
Kendal at Oberlin, Ohio
Marketing Manager, Terry Kovach, confirmed that Kendal prioritizes recycling, composting, energy efficiency, and children. “Our in-house daycare and preschool help us recruit staff who have young children. And, these amenities also enable older residents to interact with kids. It helps everyone,” said Kovach. “Residents swim with their grand friends and help them learn to cook through the cooking club. Volunteering to help kids would have brought joy to Mom and Dad but was impossible where they lived.
Additionally, wide trails lead to the cozy town of Oberlin, Ohio, with quaint stores, eateries, and coffee shops. Oberlin College and Conservatory is well-known for music and diverse studies. Residents at Kendal take in their programs. The College is also taking strides to convert to geothermal and reduce its carbon footprint. We toured town, enjoyed a coffee shop and browsed some stores before leaving.
After only an hour at Kendal, we felt comfortable. The nonprofit company has similar senior residences in several eastern states and is building two in California. Perhaps they’ll come to Iowa. Or, maybe there is a similar existing senior residence in the Corridor we’ve yet to discover.
Lots to Consider
We’re not yet ready to send a deposit to any senior residence, but when we do it will be a place where we feel at home in a place that shares our values.
Your post came at a good time. I’m reading “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In the End” by Atul Gawande. It discusses the sad state of housing options for the elderly. We are currently looking for a suitable and affordable place in the Corridor for Steve’s 83-year-old mother who lives in Springfield MO. It isn’t easy.
Sheri, you are right, this is not easy. Thank you for sharing your story and the book.
That was a very interesting story, Rich. It’s reassuring to learn that places with such ideologies exist. May you find one like it in Iowa when the time comes.
I think that’s exactly what I need as well. Thanks for the article.
Sherrie, many people has responded to both the GZ editorial we did and this blog. So, Rich is pursuing with Kendal and we hope they will come to this area and build! (If you build it, they (clients) will come!) M~
Perhaps you can convince Kendal to partner with Indian Creek. Then you wouldn’t have to move far. However, for my two cents, I would try to stay right where you are for as long as possible. My wife and I will turn 80 this year. We are both working about as “full time” as we ever have, staying active with sheep, goats, chickens, and a garden. Combined, those projects supply most of our food and plenty of exercise. My weekly radio show, annual TV special, and occasional newspaper articles keep me current in the outdoor and conservation fields. Turkey, deer, and small game hunting, along with not enough fishing outings, provide better recreation (and many more meals) than cornhole (Who invented that name for that beanbag game, anyway?) or pickleball. So, if I were you, I’d dig in, stay put, and tell your kids you’ll let them know if/when you need help! BTW, our free-range flock has produced 50 or so chicks this year, and we just bought another 25 meat birds as day-old chicks. We’ll be eating chicken at least once a week for the next year, and our egg customers say our eggs are the best they’ve had. Thanks for your chicken-related advice over the years!
Thanks, Dan. We also are busy and enjoying all we do. Good for you and your wife for being engaging. That is what keeps people alive! M~
Thank you for continuing to add to and discuss this crucial decision. We are working on aging-in-place work on our house but for those of us who live long, at some point we will likely need assistance.
Yes, Nancy. That is the main issue. People might want to “age in place” and there IS a time they will need to move. To make matters easy for the rest of the families/friends, we believe it prudent to plan now and involve others so there are minimal surprises. M~