Characters At The Manor

Like all other buildings like this one, ther are characters, some great, some annoying.  One of the first is a man-eater who flirted with any guy in the room.  One day she sidled up to my guy, batted her big beautiful brown eyes at him and told him her apartment number.  I stepped between them, looked her in eye and said He is mine.  She backed off and informed me that men need variety.  I informed her that I do not share. 
There are only a few men in this building, but some of them are characters.  The ones who were friends would sit on a bench and gossip all day.  On check day, they would get their booze and then they were loud and obnoxious.  Two of them have passed away and are missed.
There is a woman who is bossy, religious, and cheap.  She has a car but she never asks anyone if they want to go out with her.  When we have an occasion that we bring some refreshments she does not.  When we charged admission she would never pay, but since the changes in our committee, she has to pay, so she stays home.  Let me say that she is not mean, she is very caring, but she is CHEAP!
That is all I can write for now but there are more.  Many more!

Next:  More characters

Changes At The Manor

I missed writing since Halloween night because I think I had the flu.  I was tired and achy and slept most of the time.
Today I felt better and went to see my surgeon early this morning then on a long ride on my scooter.  On Sept. 5, while out riding Freedom, my name for my scooter, I tried to go on a part of a sidewalk that was way too steep for me to navigate and I panicked and scooter and I rolled over and I broked, no smashed, my shoulder and ended up at the hospital and four days later had surgery and have metal replacements in the left shoulder.  It is still sore but the mobility is returning SLOWLY.  By March it should be healed.  Enough about me.
The Manor has seen some changes and some of the long time residents do not like it.  We have a Tenants Committee who lead a monthly meeting and plan events and are in charge of parties, fund-raisers, etc. For years it was the same people who ran everything and in the last two years there have been many changes. Some from the tenants and some from the owners of the building.  The tenants have elected new officers, bought new tables for the Public lounge, a Wii, a shuffleboard table and other things that have improved the building and the tenants use of it.  Housing has put in new windows in all of the apartments.
As in all Seniors Buildings, there are several deaths a year and this past month there were two and they both mean a lot to us. The first was a lady who had so much cancer in her body that she was put into a drug induced coma and one night she just slipped away.  We miss her wonderful, loud laugh and her caring nature. The other was a man who was our best man eight years ago and a great friend.  He had COPD and emphysema and he slipped away tonight around 5.  There have been many tears tonight but we know he is not suffering anymore.  We will always love our friends and miss them.

Next blog:  Characters in the Manor

Life As A Senior

I knew that getting older meant that we slow down, have aches and pains but I never realized that I had to discuss every ache in great detail!  I live in a Seniors Building call a Manor and every activity leads to discussions of aches, sore knees, diabetes,even how their bowels are today.  Ugh!!!
Most of the tenants walk next door to a grocery store or take a bus and go a shopping mall, but many hardly leave their apartments.  We have dances for occasions like Halloween, barbeques in the summer but mostly the same people come and leave quickly after the food is served.  No socializing, or very little.
When we first moved in, I wanted to start a craft group, but it turned out to be a couple of hours of talking and very little crafts. I suggested that we make finger puppets for the Childrens Hospital and was told that we could not do that because it had never been done.  Nope!  We must never change ANYTHING!  In 10 years some things have changed, but very little.

Next blog: Changes at the Manor.

Am I THAT Old!!!

This has been a day of reflection!  My wonderful husband, Harold, turned 72 today and that reminded me that in less four months, I will 68!!!  Looking back, I realize that all I did was raise 4 unique young people, 3 boys and one girl, as a single mom.  Then in the fall of 1993, after a terribly sad year, I started college.  The sadness was that my 25 year old son, Kevin, died because of HIV. I will always miss him, but I promised him that I would still go to college.  So in September I started my course in Library Information and Technology.  We are called Library Techs.  I loved every moment of my three years in college.  In June, 1996, I graduated and started job hunting.  At 53, it was hard to find work, but i did, just not in a library, but in an office using my computer skills.  It was interesting and I learned more about computers.  In 1998, our family was hit by sorrow once again when my oldest son overdosed and was gone.  I nearly had a breakdown, but my family, church family and my faith helped me to hold on and go on living. 
That fall, while using a chat site online called ICQ I met a funny guy from Nova Scotia and we talked nearly every day till 2000.  By the way, I lived on the west coast, in British Columbia.  On Feb. 2, 2000, he asked me to marry him and after a few days of thought and prayer, I said yes.  By the 7th of April I was in Halifax!  We got married 2 years and 20 days later and are very happy.

Next installment:  More about being a Senior!