the BIG Move

A little over a week ago Dad finally said things that let me know that he is now ready to actually make the move out of his house and into a retirement apartment.

We agreed on a schedule of visitations to places he had already looked at to determine which one he really wanted to live in. Made appointments for visits. Three, 3, of them.

Saturday morning we went to the first one, nice, not overly impressed by food (they gave us lunch), small but adequate apartments, no balconies, rather sparse grounds. The company rep said that they didn't expect people to spend much time in their rooms, they should be out "socializing" in common areas. They were giving veteran's discounts; still kind of pricey but possibly acceptable for what was offered in program. Took notes, "thanks for the tour." Left.

2nd visit was back to Village Green. I think I have mentioned them before as they offer several programs for seniors that you don't have to be a resident to attend. And they encourage seniors to attend social functions so that they can "sample the experience" without a lot of sales hype. I digress, we walked in and told them what we wanted to look at. A number of apartments were available as several residents had moved from the "independent living" building down to the "assisted living" building very recently. We looked at 5, all with a bit of view, 3 with balconies. (Dad has always liked to take his coffee and often his lunch on his deck in nice weather.) All these apts were in close proximity to areas of interest to Dad. Seems the sales rep had not only listened to what Dad said as we toured, he heard. A humorous note: it seems that on a prior visit Dad had become a "teaching moment" for reps. He had headed for a staircase, notice staircase not stairs, to descent from 2nd to 1st floor; the then tour guide directed us away and toward an elevator. As we talked to a (resident) friend later we wondered why. Apparently the staff to do tours are now taught to pay attention to such actions and not redirect visitors. David was laughing that he got to "meet the legend" as he hadn't really known if it had happened or was a story. Anyway, I am away from the point again. We sat down to talk numbers and what was included.

Then Dad surprised me, asking when he could put reservation on one of the apartments we'd seen. The 1st one actually. A 1 bedroom 719 sq.ft. with a generously sized walk in 2nd closet off the bedroom which will provide storage room for the things he wants but doesn't want out. So much for visitation #3.

We went back the next morning (before my visit to museum), made the deposit and started the ball rolling. The apartment went to head of clean/refurbish list. By the end of this week they are up to painting the walls. Next week they will reinstall appliances and lay carpet. We are going in on Monday to do measurements on everything, locate all outlets and phone, and cable connections.

Now that the decision is made he is looking at the houseful of 49 years worth of accumulations. It is daunting, I have to admit. He is feeling a bit overwhelmed. We have mapped out a strategy to determine what is there and how to decide what to take/what to delete. Some things will stay in the house with me. I have contacted property managers to meet as we (D.W. and I) will also have to decide who will handle our house after we relocate to his. Yes, we are moving over so that we have a somewhat larger, rambler style, home. The 2 car garage will be nice. My schedule for the next month (at least) will be 2 days moving activities, 4 days in office [boss approved] 1 day with D.W. doing whatever we need to do. Hectic much? Yikes.