1. A Rollercoaster Ride…

Rollercoaster….

This rollercoaster ride of ageing continues for us in unexpected ways…both opportunities and challenges!

Thank you to all the friends who sent feedback on our April Newletter- the most we’ve ever received in the 7 years of writing each month..  It was very uplifting for us.

The good news is that we have signed up for a brand new independent apartment at Selwyn Village in Point Chevalier (just 10 minutes from where we live now). It is due to be finished in November 2021- and the apartment we have chosen is on the top floor (3rd floor up) in the north-west corner of Caswell Block, (see the red spot on the roof of the left-hand block below!) on the coast overlooking the Waitemata Harbour with the Waitakere Ranges on the horizon. A small 3-minute track below the building leads down to a sandy swimming beach and the Point Chevalier Coastal walkway.

 

It was a lucky find for us- we went in one morning to tell the sales staff we wouldn’t be buying at this time (having not found anything that really appealed..) and were told that the woman who had put a deposit on one of the best apartments in the new Caswell block had changed her mind and pulled out, and would we be interested in this lovely apartment – a little bigger than where we are at present, with two bedrooms and an area for a study, and more storage options in laundry and bathroom – and, of course, no passing traffic.  So we took it on the spot, paid a deposit that afternoon, and saw our lawyer the next day to begin the Licence to Occupy process.

The Selwyn Foundation has an excellent reputation for quality care for those over 60, both for those in this village- around 600 residents – those in a couple of other Auckland  facilites , and community action and support groups throughout the city.

(Charmaine has an odd connection to the Village- as Head Prefect at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in 1959, she and her deputy were taken by the Headmistress, Miss Marjorie Adams, to the laying of the foundation stone for the chapel at Selwyn Village, and met dignitaries like the then Governor-General and an  Archbishop there…)

It’s a bit of a shock for us to think of ourselves, a lively, active couple, moving into a retirement village- but we are working through our ageism and recognising both the benefits of being in this lovely independent unit (with no traffic noise and sea views!), but also with access to a wide range of support services if and when we need them.  And we also know a dozen lively feminist and lesbian women who live there, so we look forward to a good social time too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. It looks fabulous! Facing our own ageism is so necessary; if we cling to outdated images of who we are we are setting ourselves up tor a pride-provoking fall. I admire your decisiveness. The small track to the sea sounds like a decision-clincher! — along with like-minded neighbours.

  2. Marjory Lewis says

    I remember Marjorie Adams at EGGS well too, with same names we had a connection.
    I admire your decision to move.

  3. Barbara Ford says

    Looks and sounds amazing. lots love always

    xoxo
    B&B

  4. Point Chevalier is a lovely area with great energies around it. What a wonderful synchronistic happening! That view will be fabulous what ever the weather.

  5. It looks and sounds absolutely wonderful. Its just what you both deserve.

    I think I may be suffering from a condition that I am normally totally free from….I think I have a touch of “green….with envy”.

    No doubt you will find a plot of land around the village to grow your own vegetables …and
    the wonderful Community garden up the Pt Chevalier Road.

    Gillian

  6. Takashi +Itsuko says

    Amazing!!
    I am always amazed by your decisiveness and good luck.

    Happy birthday, Charmaine!!

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