Top Ten Senior Moments

Before Lori and I succumb to them, I thought I would share with you some of my observations here at Colony Cove in Florida of the Top Ten traits of being a senior (defined as being someone older than us).

1. Your watch is set to beep at 5pm, so you do not miss a minute of happy hour. The stronger the drink, the better (wine is not in fashion).

2. The more experienced have a sign in their home saying "It is 5 o'clock somewhere" and can start earlier and don't need any alarm.

3. Social interactions are of course very important to seniors. The clubs and activities here are too numerous to list all of them, but besides golf, tennis, pool, shuffleboard, bingo, scrabble, woodworking, bible study and hobby clubs, there are many shows, dinners and trips. For someone we know, who likes line dancing for example, there is a line dance somehere nearby every day. There are many snowbirds here from Canada and the North Eastern US States, and there is a Canada club, New England Club, Michigan Club etc. Each club is open to all, and are mere excuses for another way to network. Since we are all seniors on very limited or fixed incomes, the actvities are usually free or one or two dollars at most.

4. Many people own golf carts, and there is of course a golf cart club, which finds an excuse at least once a week to parade around the community in a convoy. On special occasions, such as the Mardi Gras parade below, they go all out in their decorations with lights, flags, beads etc.

5. Talking of golf carts, the selection and status of their golf cart is at least as important as for their car. A golf cart that looks different or can go faster than the others is very highly prized.

6. Cars must be washed at least once per day. (I think this is in case it will be clean when it is in the funeral procession).

7. The highlight of their day is going out to get their mail. The post lady comes at around three o'clock, at which time she is surrounded by people, cars and golf carts waiting patiently and expectantly while she loads up the boxes with their mail.

8. When they want some real excitement, they do jigsaw puzzles. There is an unlimited supply available from the library, and these can be done in private, or communally in the Community Hall.

Here is a picture of one "not quite yet senior" practicing this craft at her home - and also practising trait #1 and 2 (note the time).

9. The spirit of volunteerism and friendliness is extremely high. There are volunteers who arrange and help out with all the activities and shows, but there are also the unsung volunteers who make sure all the books in the library are filed correctly, and that the signs on the notice board are orderly. More importantly, there are also volunteers who help out any people who are finding difficulty cooking, looking after or paying for their place.

My friend, Bob is visting us from Ottawa and has just come back from a walk, and has observed how friendly everyone is, just like in the small town Bouctouche in New Brunswick that he grew up in.

and finally . .

10. Seniors believe that life is a journey and not a destination, and are determined to keep enjoying the journey whilst they can still travel.

Our weekend visit to Charleston, SC

We are nearing the end of a great weekend visit with Linda, Steve and Caitlin, with the added bonus of also being able to see Brian.

This evening, we all enjoyed a terrific Southern style dinner (complete with fried green tomatoes) at Poogan's Porch in downtown Charleston. They were celebrating their 30th anniversary, and to our great benefit, the dinners were priced at their 1978 prices!!

We "happened" to go into a souvenir store that was selling Steve's award winning hot sauce.

We are heading back to Ellenton tomorrow morning (about a 9 to 10 hour drive), and Lori and I will be travelling to nearby Clearwater on Wednesday, where I will be speaking at a PMI dinner meeting.

We like it so much here in Colony Cove . . .

. . . that we bought a place.

As seen from the street

from the back

and the view from the back

It has been over a month since my last post, and as you can guess we have been very busy. I have played tennis, pool, scrabble and Lori of course has attended a lot of the line dancing sessions, and even called a few dances as a guest teacher. We have attended many events in this community, and also some, like the jamboree sessions, in the community next door. In keeping with our status as seniors on a small or no fixed income, the events are either free or cost only a few dollars to attend. We have really enjoyed all the activities, and found people to be very friendly. Last night we went to our neighbours to watch the Super Bowl. They are both very intense Patriots fans, so the game was all the more interesting, especially since it was so close right to the end - when the Patriots lost in the last two minutes of the game!

Since we would like to escape the winters in Canada, and after having a few issues with getting a good place to rent in spite of booking many months ago, we decided to buy a place of our own. There were lots to choose from and we found one to our liking within a few days of looking. We signed for it on February 1st, but since we have already committed to renting till the end of April, we have rented it back to the previous owners till the end of March, who will then be moving to their new home. It is being sold unfurnished, so this also gives us time to get furniture for the place, and will give Lori lots more practice for her other favourite pastime - shopping.