A new chapter will soon be starting in my life Today, I was notified I have been accepted as a member of the ElderSpirit Trail View community in Abingdon, pictured above, and placed on the waiting list to buy one of the homes.
I am very excited. No one knows how long it will take for a home to become available. My plan is to consult a real estate agent to find out what I need to do regarding updating and redecorating Castle Yonder to prepare it for sale. Also, there's going to be some major downsizing that has to be done.
Thinking about moving to this community is bittersweet for me. Leaving Castle Yonder, the unique home in the mountains I've known for 27 years, is so sad. I won't be able to take any of it with me except lots of memories, photographs and a few daylily roots.
But the thought of moving to ElderSpirit is absolutely rejuvenating for me. My life has been like a book, divided into chapters, and I am now ready to conclude the Castle Yonder chapter. I don't know what awaits me, but I've always been a good mover and have adapted to geographic change well in my past.
What I love about ES is that its mission is to sponsor a participatory community of aging adults who accept the values of tolerance, cooperation, and governance by residents through compromise and conciliation. They also encourage a later life journey in spirituality. Many religions are represented among the members and the Spirit House is scheduled for various meetings for Buddhists, Quakers, Franciscans, and AA, among others. The community is designed to include all financial levels also.
ElderSpirit has three expectations of each member; one is to attend monthly general meetings; the second is to serve on one of the committees, of which there are many; and the third is to be on a cooking team which prepares a meal every nine weeks. I have visited there three times and now that I'm an off-site member, I'm looking forward to my next visit, the general meeting next Saturday morning.
I'll keep you all posted on future blogs as to progress toward beginning this new chapter.
