Jumping Right In: Some of the Many Welcomes
These are my three favorite examples of how the people here extend themselves to newcomers, and how helpful and reassuring that has been as we began our retirement life!
First, at the end of only our second visit to the main campus of Medford Leas, our Senior Life Consultant Marianne S. suggested that since our route home would take us right past the Leas’ Lumberton campus, we should drive in and look around.
Yuri Moriuchi — She Spoke with Flower Arrangements
“She was a fairly shy person,” remembers Chris Darlington, speaking of Yuri (Yuriko) Moriuchi. She was the wife of Takashi (Tak), who was one of the founders, along with Lewis Barton, of Medford Leas.
Jumping Right In: The First Two Weeks
On June 24, the day after we moved in, I learned that both campuses had July 4 events planned. I decided to go to both in order to build and keep a sense of the whole community by making friends on both campuses.
On June 29, I took a break from unpacking and went to the Thrift Shop on the main campus
Setting the Stage for Jumping Right In
Phil and I moved to Medford Leas in June 2015. When I was asked to write a series of short pieces about the beginnings of our new lives here, it sounded so straight-forward that I said yes. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? The suggested title “Jumping Right In” even sounded like an echo of our commitment to our retirement – to do our homework and then jump right in.
Ruminations on a Trip to the City
The destination is Mount Philly to view and learn about its world renowned Mural Arts Program. The vehicle is our chock-full fairly new bus, segregated with second-stop Lumberton fans consigned to back seats. The sound when hitting a pothole was eerily reminiscent of long ago trips to the opera on the old bus.
Combining Birding and History
Ten birders, including six Pathways guests, participated in the trip. On a sunny and cool day, they identified 30 bird species, enjoyed a quiet lunch in the park, and had a brief history lesson.