“You guys live in paradise!” my dad exclaimed this evening after listening to me rehash my day. “You walked to the park in the morning, the beach in the evening, you’re going to the zoo tomorrow, and all in this perfect weatherÂ…!”
We laughed, knowing he’d barely hit the highlights. Raising kids in Coronado is a dream come true.
But Coronado, for many of us, is just a stepping stone in the long road of life. Even kids who are raised here will have to go away to college and face the rest of the world eventually. Much as I want to live life here to the fullest, I also want my kids to know that there is a world outside of Coronado. It is an incredible world, with diverse and fascinating people, and it is valuable and beautiful. I want my kids to know that every day of their lives, even before they can understand what they are learning, so that their natural instinct is to respond with compassion, responsibility, and love.
So recently I began to look for ways to do that. I had two constraining criteria, though. My kids are two and three years old, so I needed something that would be age-appropriate for them.
Also, if at all possible, I wanted to be able to walk.
Believe it or not, finding something wasn’t hard. I’m a nurse (currently on a hiatus to raise babies and write), and I have spent a lot of time in nursing homes. Most assisted living facilities have regular activities and volunteer opportunities.
In January of this year, I called the Coronado Retirement Village to ask if they had an activities director. Within seconds I heard the bright and cheery voice of Ally, activities director extraordinaire. Five minutes later, I had a date and a time to join the residents for a Thursday morning crock-pot cooking class.
The first morning we showed up, I was nervous. Would my kids behave? What would we do? Would residents be mostly bed-bound, or walking around the facility, or lucid? I really had no idea.
Also, even though we had walked to almost every corner of Coronado, we had not walked to the corner that included the hospital and Retirement Village, and we were on unfamiliar ground.
But I shouldn’t have worried.
The facility is beautiful — and sparkling clean — with big windows overlooking Tidelands Park and the bay. That first day, Ally greeted us and took us upstairs to the two community rooms filled with books, a vintage bingo set, a couple of TVs, and plenty of comfortable seating. We passed quiet private rooms where staff members were fanning clean sheets over beds.
Clearly, we had stepped into a bustling little community, less like a hospital
than a well-run apartment building.
Ally told me later that the Coronado Retirement Village (CRV) was a chosen destination for its 90 residents. “We are very well-known,” Ally explained, “We have residents from all over the U.S. People want to experience our beautiful view of the bay.” Some adult children place their parents in this assisted living and memory care (Alzheimer’s) facility, but others travel once a month or so to visit. “It’s a vacation for everyone to visit Mom and Dad!” Ally laughed.
We have continued to visit the CRV every Thursday morning; this past week we made chocolate chip pancakes with the residents. I watched as my two-year-old son carefully carried a paper plate with a pancake to each resident, and then held it still while my three-year-old daughter poured a dollop of syrup onto each pancake. They waited patiently to serve everyone, and then they sat down to eat a pancake of their own. Later, they delivered cups of water, and then returned to gather up the trash.
Next Ally got out various games in the community room. As I watched my children blow bubbles and various residents pop them, I realized that I had brought my children to just the right place. The residents were delighted with my children – most of them forget us after we leave and are newly delighted each week. They also enjoy playing the same games and eating the same snacks that my preschool-age children do.
For about an hour each week, bringing preschoolers and assisted living residents together is a wonderful playtime for both of them.
As the weeks have gone by, my children and I have learned names, personalities, and life stories. The kids know what a walker is for, and a wheelchair, and that some people just doze off in the middle of a game. During our visits, the kids know that they are in second place and that their job is to be friendly and helpful. They hear the same questions repeated every time we visit, sometimes multiple times per visit from the same person, and they are learning to respond clearly and politely, saying, “My name is Lena. This is Gil. He is a boy, and I am a girl.” They are learning to call the residents “our friends.”
For us, the CRV has been a gentle way to teach our kids that not everyone looks and talks and acts just like they do. I love seeing my children look at this part of the world with compassion instead of confusion or fear. The genuinely kind staff and residents at CRV are a joy to count among our friends in Coronado, too.
If you’d like to practice with us, call (619) 437-1777 and ask for Ally. You could also join us on April 3rd from 1-2pm to see the Easter Bunny. Or come to the Spring Fling on Monday, May 11, from 2-6pm. All are welcome! There will be vendors, food, drinks, a dunk tank, and the Chargers are providing musical entertainment.
And remember, no matter where you are in Coronado, the Coronado Retirement Village is just a few blocks away!
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“Coronado Living” is a weekly column written by one of eCoronado.com’s staff writers, Becca Garber. She writes about choosing simplicity and practicing hospitality with her family at home in Coronado. You can read more of her writing on her blog.
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Becca Garber
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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