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We decided the best way, especially for my wife, to recuperate was to temporarily move into a complex in Center City primarily designed for senior independent and assisted living. A one-room apartment at The Watermark at Logan Square became our living quarters.
We took our meals in an attractive dining room twice a day and thus avoided food shopping and meal preparation and cleanup. Living on one floor is a big advantage during recuperation, especially when you’re used to rowhome living where making the stairs can become a challenge. The washer and dryer were at the end of the hall. So was the room with the trash compactor. There may be a better way to spend our senior years, dear readers.
We were five to 15 years younger than most of the residents, but age is no barrier when making friends. We often see the media depict sad portraits of seniors struggling with old age. At The Watermark, the more fortunate have found a way to extend the quality of their lives almost indefinitely. Some found our compliments about their living arrangements reassuring.
One of the biggest problems with seniors living alone in their homes is they do not eat nutritious meals. The burden of preparing then eating it by yourself often makes them choose not to bother at all. Experts claim the key to good dining habits on the part of seniors is the need to socialize. At The Watermark an important part of dinner was being able to eat with friends. The dining room buzzed with lots of lively stories and friendly conversations.
We were invited several times to be the guests of a particularly lovely woman who lived on our floor. We found our dinner companions were mired in the past, though we shared some poignant memories of our youth. Many retain a lively interest in the arts and politics. Some of them are in politically and socially active groups such as Grannies for Peace. Because of our kidney transplant story, we were treated like celebrities.
The second night, a fire alarm went off around 11:30 p.m. My wife and I hurriedly put on our robes and hustled out of the apartment, per instructions, to the nearest fire exit. We noticed no one else was in the hallway. I figured everybody else was already out of the building. Since the elevators were off limits, we strained to push open the fire exit door (we were just five days out of surgery). No one was there, either. We proceeded to go down two flights when the all clear was sounded. We learned at this stage of our recuperation, it was tougher going back up the steps to our room. The next day we found out it was a false alarm. Talking to the residents, most seemed to have taken it in stride or already forgot about it. It was the only false note sounded during our stay.
My mother lived in the nursing home of this complex before she passed away four years ago. I still get a discomforting feeling she is still alive and living on the third floor, wondering why I have not visited lately. I resisted visiting the third floor.
I am not fooling myself about the inevitable decline that sets in if you live long enough. It’s all around us, even evident in some of those still independently living. Walkers and canes were very much in evidence. Forgetfulness is not really humorous once it is repeated a couple of times. It forces you to face your own mortality. Yet, you would be terribly wrong if you thought this is a sad place. There is a certain steely eyed resistance to feeling sorry for one’s self, a quiet dignity about these people I wish all of us can forward into our old age.
An important part of retaining interest in the world is to avoid the kind of isolation that afflicts many of our seniors because they are not mobile. At The Watermark, residents have access to a Center City shuttle, which runs frequently. There are scheduled bus trips to museums, theaters and shopping about town. There are current films, as well as the classics, shown in the auditorium, and concerts with artists supplied by The Curtis Institute of Music.
Recuperation went well. Uncle Nunzio tells me recuperating is the only thing I do really well. We are now back home and our experience has given us newfound friends. We will always remember their kindness and charm and the perspective they gave us on growing older with dignity.
At night, the city glows with the excitement and wonder of the expectation of life. Our friends at The Watermark have not lost that enthusiasm and zest for what tomorrow might bring. We left a part of our hearts there.
