Reflections on our Chosen Path

My husband Don and I moved to The Homestead at Croasdaile Village in April of 2023, and have often reflected on what a good choice this path has been for us. We had signed up for Croasdaile Village in 2017, while also considering another retirement community in 2018, as a back-up plan to aging in place in our one-story suburban home. My parents had lived at a different CCRC, so I was an advocate of Continuing Care Retirement Communities. As the years passed and our bodies changed, we decided that we were ready to move before our target date of 2025, and that we wanted to stay in Durham where Don had grown up. A seller’s real estate market provided extra incentive to our move.

We love being part of the Croasdaile community, where we have met many wonderful new people and reconnected with long-time friends. We have not missed our fireplace and yard as much as we thought we would, and are doing very little cooking for ourselves (something we always enjoyed) since the food here is varied and tasty. Our biggest challenges have been refusing daily desserts and hitting a zero-dollar dining balance at the end of each month.

We exercise more than we did before we moved and enjoy having easy access to the pool, hot spa, gym, and lovely outdoor spaces for walking. We have switched our health care to the Croasdaile Clinic, joined several Life Enrichment groups, taken on neighborhood responsibilities, used the CV bus to go to baseball and basketball games, eaten out at restaurants with other residents, enjoyed musical performances, and danced (short) nights away in Fassett Auditorium – so many options, so little time! “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver, The Summer Day).