Stages of life

A point, period, or step in a process or development. 

That is one definition of 'stage'.  Additionally, stage can also mean:

A raised floor or platform, typically in a theatre, on which actors, entertainers, or speakers perform.

Let's take each definition in turn and consider it for a moment.  

We start as a baby, and progress through toddler, child, teen, adult, older adult, and Really old adult.  

Or, 

We can be thought of as having been performing on a succession of stages during our lives. Whether we're in school, on the job, raising a family, or doing whatever, we have been looked at, judged, and appraised by the rest of our world.  

With these in mind, I invite you to take a look at the newest stage (either definition) that Jeanne and I are embracing.  

This post looks specifically at a major change we have made over the last couple of days. (months in planning) 

Jeanne and I have moved into a retirement village.  The time was right for us to do so. We're both pushing 70 after all, still only in the 'older adult' category mentioned above, but not getting any younger.  

There are plenty of apartments for sale all over the city, but after just a little investigation, we determined that a retirement village would best suit our needs. The apartment we have purchased in the Waitakere Gardens Retirement Village is no more expensive than many apartments we might have purchased would have been and offers So many additional benefits, that it was, as they say, a no-brainer about which one to buy.  

Let me show you around our new home. We are not fully moved in yet. Further, our dining table and chairs and a recliner and foot stool haven't been delivered yet by the store, so I think I'll concentrate on our surroundings, and when we get fully settled, I'll show you more of our apartment.  

Out of the old...

and into the new.  

The balcony to our apartment is at about the center of this picture. 

Just outside the main entrance. 

The -A- in A216 refers to the atrium, which you see part of here. It extends similarly beyond the lift column you see in the distance.  

The first look at our 'lounge.'  (I should have shut the bathroom door before taking this shot I suppose.)

The view from our balcony.  You may note that Jeanne already has some of her plants positioned. 

The management sent us flowers. 

They provided sandwiches, coffees and muffins during the day and dinner on our first evening. Jeanne had apricot chicken and I had a steak and kidney pie, delivered to our door and still hot.   

Our first night in our new home. We were exhausted and went to bed really early. I got up during the night and took these two shots.  

It was a balmy night.  It felt, if not fully tropical, at least tropical-ish with gentle breezes and flowery smells. This is a Nice place.  

That white car belongs to the security guy. He just happened to be checking in with reception as I took the picture.  

This seems like a good spot to end this post. The next one will to show you scenes that we'll see everyday.   -djf