We have been on the move

     Had to wait a couple of days for this: Thank so many of you for your birthday/Father's Day messages. Think I hit the 300-plus mark on messages.

     There was a reason for the thank-you delay: We moved.

     If there was any doubt that we are now senior citizens -- you did not really doubt that, did you? -- it now is official.

     We now live in a "retirement community" (which means senior citizens). And we are happy about it.
     This was Bea's dream. Over the past five years, skeptical me became convinced this was the right thing to do.
      So this move is my 71st birthday and my Father's Day present this year.

The view from our sixth-floor patio looking southeast in Fort Worth.

      Our new home is on the edge of downtown Fort Worth, a complex of three high-rise buildings -- and it is a well-respected, highly recommended and well-run facility.
     We visited here -- by invitation -- more than a couple of times and became more and more convinced this was the right community for us. So, yes, I was recruited.
      It is our 16th move in 41 years together -- it has been a long road, folks -- and we are 99 percent sure it is our last one.
     The apartment we just left, near the Trinity River and Colonial Country Club (about 100 yards across the river from the fourth green), was almost new when we moved in eight years ago. We liked it, but it is not so new now. We lived there longer than any place in our time together.
     Moving in here -- sixth floor, in the original of the three buildings -- we have had to downsize considerably. But we have been doing that for years. 
     What that forces is to choose practicality over sentimentality; we let go of things we had for decades. For instance, I had clippings, photos and magazines/newspapers from way, way back. They are gone. Copied what I could into computer files.
     But we came into a completely scrapped and then refurbished apartment. Everything is new. 
     That was one incentive. Also, health care is a top priority here, with an extensive program and facilities. And there is a long-term financial guarantee.
     Sure, it is costly. Honestly, I did not think we could do it. But with the guidance of our financial advisor and the help of our sales rep here (the can-do-it-all Gretchen Lincoln), it became doable.
     Some expenses -- such as utilities -- were cut. And because transportation is provided in many instances, we are not going to need our car as often, and eventually plan to do without it. (If we need to rent a car for trips, there is a rental company within five minutes.) 
     We have found the management staff and workers here so competent and cooperative. And the people in the community have been overwhelmingly welcoming these first three days.
     Lots of older people here; yesterday I met a woman who is 97 and a man in his mid-90s, both residents here for more than 20 years. 
     So we are among the younger residents  and we think, we hope, we can be helpful here. A number of residents are not-yet-retired doctors and attorneys and many others carry on busy lives outside this community.
     I will not be the biggest baseball fan here. One fairly new resident is baseball royalty -- a New York Yankees World Series star, high-ranking baseball executive who has had a rich, full life of excellence in medicine, too.                
     There is a general store in the building, workout facility, a heated indoor swimming pool, all sorts of exercise and wellness areas, a library, an office-type workroom, rooms for visiting (with card games and puzzles), and there are many scheduled activities (shopping trips, speakers, exercise, special occasions).

      Bea already is set to work in "white elephant" monthly sales shop (clothes, furniture, knick-knacks, etc.); various book clubs are available; and Bea wants to start a coloring (book) club.
     We can walk -- if the weather is decent -- to the YMCA where we exercise 3-4 days a week and the Fort Worth Central Library -- a frequent stop for us -- is across the street from the Y. 

      If, long-term, we need a car for trips, a rental company is closeby. So are banks. So are big shopping areas; we already have tried that walk. And our new facility provided us with a shopping cart.

      Because we now have one bedroom, one bath and a smaller living area and kitchen, we carefully chose what to bring. 
      Moving is never easy, but we are experienced and Bea did most of the packing because one of us knows what they are doing.
      It is a new adventure, and it is exciting. The facility's assistant executive director, extending a welcome Tuesday, said, "You are on a cruise ship now. Enjoy it."

      We intend to enjoy it. Come see us.