May 30, 2010 - A New Beginning

BTK here. For those of you who visit and have found nothing new to read, I apologize. There has not been much recently that inspired me to write. As I am known to say, "life just keeps happening" without much of interest to share with my small reading community.

However, I have now made what will be a life-changing decision for me, personally. I have decided on a new direction that I want to take after my current home is remodeled and, hopefully, quickly sold.

My experience living with my sons as adults ( along with a fiancé) over the last 10 months will just not work for me in the long run. They need their own space. I need my own space. But, those spaces must be separate and not at all dependent on each other to exist.

I understand, respect and appreciate the fact that my sons want happiness, safety and security for me in the future. However, I, and I alone, must decide what that means and how I choose to make that happen.

I have decided that a senior living community will be best for me. I have spent the past several weeks reading about and touring several reputable, licenced facilities in Chicago's south suburbs. I love Chicago and I don't wish to leave. I love the south side because I hate Cub fans. So one of the facilities that I visited will ultimately be my home. My challenge now is to decide which one is the best fit for me. I will share the names of the facilities in case any of you have comments, specific to a facility, that you would like to share.

First, I visited "The Park" in Olympia Fields. "The Park" offers all of the independent living options that make sense including accommodations and meal plans. They offer escalated care which moves to and through assisted-living to skilled nursing should I need that in the future. As I toured, I could see myself living there. I'll be back in the future to drill down on specific line items in the brochure. I found the staff I met welcoming and the accommodations more than adequate.

Next, I visited "Waterford Estates" in Hazelcrest. Acommodations, meal plans and amenities were comparable to "The Park". However , they offer a heated indoor pool and whirlpool. My favorite vacation destination for any of you who know me well. A different feel from the first place. But, here too they offered escalated care which moves to and through skilled nursing to "end of life". I found the staff welcoming and the environment " somewhere where I could live".

Lastly, I visited "Tinley Court" in Tinley Park. Accommodations, meal plans and amenities were comfortable. They offered a "walk-in shower" not offered in the others. However, although they offer assisted-living, no skilled nursing was available on site. The geography is familiar and comfortable, only 10 minutes from my current home. Although I could see myself living there today, I must consider the fact that perhaps I would not want to move again, in the future, when my health needs changed.

I have an elder care adviser assigned through "A Place for Mom", a free nationwide elder-care referral agency, who is helping me sort things out and prioritize my selection steps.

I have learned a lot in the last two weeks about the " direction I have chosen". I am convinced that this direction is correct because of my physical limitations, the Chicago weather and the fact that I don't want my family concerned about my daily safety or well-being.

I feel I would be well served in any of these communities. It will just take some more research and additional visits to determine which one is right for me. I choose to make this decision for myself rather than leaving it to my family in a crisis circumstance.

As always, thanks for reading.

Comments are welcome.