Tag Archive: Lodge at Old Trail

1. Downsizing, what a mess!

   July 28, 2011 12:49 pm 3 Comments

   

   My wife and I moved very recently. We left a beautiful house in Baltimore, MD to move to Charlottesville, VA. The reason for the move is to build a senior Living community, The Lodge at Old Trail, located in the middle of Old Trail Village in Crozet, VA. I mention that for two reasons. The first reason, because I am downsizing just like many seniors who will move into my community. The second reason, I am renting instead of owning, as with the Lodge at Old Trail, which is a rental community not a buy-in.

   

   It’s funny. You speak to many people about downsizing, but if you are not doing it yourself you really can’t understand what people are going through. What will fit where? What should I give away? What should I try to sell? What should I just throw away (the coffee tin of all different size nails?) There are so many issues to think of, not to mention when I do move to a new place will I make new friends?

   Well, I am here to tell you that I feel better. We did give some things away, we did figure where the furniture we really liked fit, we did sell a couple of things and I must say I did throw away the tin of nails. And yes I did meet nice a gentlemen that was cutting his lawn that welcomed me to the neighborhood. All a good start.

   We live in a house half the size of our old house and everything fits. I think it is more that we as a family are really the most important fit. My wife and three children are happy wherever we are and that is the most important part. It is a freeing feeling not to have so much baggage. You don’t always need so many choices. To be happy and healthy are the two most important choices and when you make the choice to be happy everything else works.

   

   The other part of moving is now I don’t own anymore, I rent. That is not to say I still don’t change the faucet when it starts leaking or fix the door when it doesn’t shut right. I like to do those things and I am sure my landlord is happy I can do repairs, but the worries of owning the house and all the bills, the land taxes, the insurance are lifted. I now have more time just to walk my dogs and tend the tomatoes I planted in the community garden. My golf game….I think that will always be a worry!

2. Grandmother’s day

   May 8, 2011 1:33 pm Leave a Comment

   Since it is Mother’s day, I wanted to share this article that my cousin, Page Evans, wrote. The picture below is of my Aunt and Uncle Tommy and my nieces. Uncle Tommy and Mary Page are exactly what I mean when speaking of active seniors. They are always on the go, enjoying their life and the lives of their children and grandchildren. Truly a family that understands and lives the concept of sharing what they know with the generations below them!

   Tom and Mary Page Evans, Page’s parents, with daughters Peyton and Katherine Schwartz
   “Life happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
   If there were a manual for mothers, this quote from John Lennon could be the header. The truth is, we never know what we’re going to get. Our kids surprise us in every way imaginable. If we’re lucky, it’s mostly good. But we all know life–and our children–are not perfect. And we, as parents–and people–are not perfect. We need to try our best to stay positive and flexible when “life happens.” Then there are our computers. Yep, they can be imperfect as well–especially when our children make too many movies on them, overloading the system.
   (Photo by: Page Evans) Happy Mom’s Day!
   So on that note, let me tell you what just happened to me. I was busy writing a Mother’s Day column for The Georgetown Dish. Getting started was problematic. I couldn’t figure out what my message was. Did I want to write about my mother, my role as a mother, what we try to teach our children, what our children teach us. As I was writing, I knew I was teetering on being overly sappy. I was, as my minister Luis Leon likes to say, “indulging my nostalgia.”

   In any case, I’m sitting at a table at Patisserie Poupon, fully loaded on carbs and caffeine, typing up a storm. Blah, blah, blah…Be kind…Be polite…Be happy…Be grateful…Help others. The screen goes black. Everything I’d just written was sucked into some black hole.
   Help! I’m in the middle of writing about how grateful I am for my children and how important gratitude is in life. Hmmmmm. Looks like the computer is not so grateful for all the movies my little darlings have made.
   So here’s my first thought: I think I’m going to cry. But I’m in a public place, so this isn’t a viable option.
   Second thought: Smash the computer. Now what would I do if my children did this? Definitely not an option.
   Third thought: Think about what I’d say to my children.
   Good question. What would I tell them? I’d tell them what I always do: Take a deep breath, have a glass of water, and go for a walk. Things will be better when you get back. Have faith.
   So that’s exactly what I did. And where did I get this advice? My mother, of course

   

3. Construction Pictures for New Senior Living Community

   April 28, 2011 2:06 pm 1 Comment

   I will begin adding pictures of the construction of The Lodge at Old Trail, Senior Living Community in Charlottesville, VA so you can see the progress. As most of you know it has been raining. This slows the process of building down when we are in the begining phases. We have all the footings in around the building and all the pier footings done. We are now building the walls of the basement. The first section of wall, 180 feet long, was poured several weeks ago. These pictures attached are of the next 180 feet that was poured last week.