Get Out, Already…It’s Not Your Life, Anymore…

Having had the distinct pleasure and (let’s be real) challenge of working with the “Active Adult” set, I’ve made many observations that make me dread 55, the AGE.

HERE’S WHAT OFTEN HAPPENS TO THIS POOR CONTINGENT OF MISPLACED 55 and better NEIGHBORS IN A NOW STRANGE NEIGHBORHOOD,full of tricycles and mini basketball hoops made of gray plastic, and a strange helmet clad contingent, complete with participating parents (OUR KIDS NEVER HAD HELMETS) riding safely down the previously less traveled-by- strangers cul-de-sac…the neighborhood looks oddly the same, but different. Friends have moved, citing reasons like an out of state child or “too much yard work”…some neighbors want to travel, now that the kids are grown.

After an unnerving accident running over the neighbor’s soccer ball (good thing the pads were on the kid) the 55 and better thinks, “THAT’S annoying.” While at the same time wondering when their first grandchild will rock their world…

They start “investigating.” This is the hardest time- the exploring. As in, unload the house with memories, and lock into a “lifestyle” change. The new house is secondary to the first dilemma, by a long shot. Neighborhood of kinship is first. The kind with the clubhouse, neighbors that are on the same page (especially during cocktail hour, when recounting their own reasons for change)…and, an indoor and outdoor pool, great for the grand kids and family…and NO YARD-WORK. And often enough, LESS MONEY. But also, LESS ROOM TO BRING ALL THE STUFF. The accumulated…stuff.

This is the difficulty, the BIGGIE. Contemplating all of the accumulated stuff. But that soccer ball has made the 55 and better consider that selling all of the stuff (or giving it away) is cheaper than the subsequent lawsuit over accidentally squirting the neighbors wild toddler with a garden hose…when did kids start eating flowers? And, since when is squirting one by mistake a crime?

Landscape free, in neighborhood clubhouse, parties, new friends, or…getting rid of a few dust collectors. The progress of freedom is a long one, when a person sells new construction. Let me just say, having enjoyed the last year and a half watching all of the heartbreaking decisions, whether you bought one of the homes or not…THANK YOU! I felt your pain!