15 Oct What’s There to Do in a Retirement Community? For This 90-Year-Old Westerwood Resident, the Answer Is Anything You Want
If you’ve ever considered moving to a retirement community but haven’t made the move for fear you’ll be bored or every day will be the same, you haven’t spoken to Jim Wagner, an eight-year resident of Westerwood. Since moving to our beautiful Columbus senior living community, he’s put the exclamation point on the term active adult living.
We caught up with Jim on a Thursday afternoon to talk about his experience at Westerwood. After thanking him for finding time in his busy schedule to chat, he corrected us, saying he’s not busy, he’s engaged. And we quickly learned the difference.
“Many of the residents think I’m extremely busy, but I’m not. I’m engaged in the community. I’m doing things I like to do, which is much different than before,” Jim explains. “Before I retired as a local pastor, I was very busy, and I couldn’t always choose what I wanted to do. And so, compared to my previous life, every day is a vacation for me here. That’s the way I see it.”
OH-HI-OH
What is one of the things Jim is most engaged in at Westerwood? Rooting for his beloved Buckeyes. “I initiated the tailgate parties for Ohio State football when I first got here,” he shares. “We have about 50 avid fans for every game. It doesn’t matter who they play or where they play. When they play, we stream it live, have lots of snacks and just yell at the TV. People put on their OSU apparel and some even bring pom-poms.”
Jim even has his own “ground crew.” The Westerwood housekeeping team sets up the room with tables and chairs. The dining hall provides cold beverages and residents bring snacks. He coordinates all the efforts, including writing an article in the Westerwood weekly newsletter that lists upcoming games, kickoff times and channels and invites all to come root on the Buckeyes.
When asked if Michigan fans are invited to the tailgate parties, Jim says with a grin, “Everyone is invited to the tailgates, but Michigan fans never show up.” He shares that last year they did; however, two Notre Dame alumni showed up for their matchup with Ohio State wearing their green, but there was no luck of the Irish for them that day.
A New Day. A New Chance to Live Your Best Life
If you want to learn about some of the activities in retirement communities, simply take a peek at Jim’s calendar. Every day is something new to look forward to. On Tuesdays, he leads the barbershop quartet (now a quintet because of its popularity). On Thursdays, he directs an instrumental combo called The Music Makers, and Friday afternoons, he directs the Village Singers—a choir that has grown to nearly 50 voices strong. The Village Singers put on two concerts a year—spring and Christmas—and perform every six weeks during the Sunday vesper service.
Jim has always had music in him. But after earning a music degree from nearby Otterbein University, he put his music on hold to serve in the Air Force and decided to go to a seminary school to become a minister upon his return. “I was an ordained Methodist minister for 40 years and I did nothing with music,” he says. “But then I retired, and here we go. I can use my music degree. It’s amazing how that worked out.”
He still uses his background as a minister to provide spiritual leadership to residents and fills in for the community chaplain as needed.
With so much to do, Jim definitely stays busy—or engaged, as he says. But even he appreciates some downtime once in a while to just be by himself and write. He’s written and published eight books and number nine is currently in the works. “You can be as active and social as you want at Westerwood, or you can enjoy private time in your apartment—in your space—with nobody bothering you. We have both options, and I’m very glad we do,” Jim says.
There’s a Committee for That
Studies show that being alone for long periods of time may lead to loneliness and isolation in seniors—resulting in several health issues, including heart disease, depression and cognitive decline. For seniors who want to remain active and independent, Westerwood provides every opportunity. From fitness classes and gardening to music and mahjong, our community offers more than 50 fun activities for seniors.
If there’s something you’re interested in that isn’t offered, you can start it. Residents who want to start a new group or club can reach out to our lifestyle coordinator, who will find others in the community interested in participating. If there’s enough interest, the coordinator will help you get it up and running—whether it’s ordering equipment, securing a location or helping get the word out.
We also have a well-organized resident association that organizes committees. We have a marketing committee, a dining services committee and a travel committee. They’re all run by the residents, and anyone can participate. There’s no nomination or election except for the chairperson—who is nominated every year. So, you can try out different committees and be as involved as you want to be.
The Westerwood Difference: You’ll Start to Feel it the Day You Move In.
Our welcoming committee meets new residents soon after they move in to show them around, explain the different offerings available to them and even arrange for other residents to have lunch or dinner with them for a couple of weeks—but many continue to do so long after.
This genuine compassion is something Jim believes really sets Westerwood apart from other communities. “We expect the staff to be compassionate—and they are. But the residents really look after each other here, especially those who don’t have much family—whether it’s taking them to doctor’s appointments, inviting them to play cards or just sitting with them if they’re not feeling well. But there’s no compassion committee. You don’t sign up to be compassionate. It’s just who we are.”
As our resident writer, Jim has yet another hat he wears. He interviews new residents and writes short bios for our weekly newsletter that introduces them to the community. He also introduces all the new residents in person at coffee hour on the last Friday of every month. He’s now doing three to five new interviews a month and looks forward to even more.
Two-Minute Warning
After an hour of chatting with Jim about Westerwood and all the ways he stays “engaged,” our last question was simple: What are the Ohio State Buckeyes going to do this year? He smiled and said, “Well they’ve got the ingredients to beat Michigan, that’s for sure. And of course, we want to see them go to the national championship—they haven’t been in a championship since I got here. They had an excellent recruiting class this year, so we’ll see what we’ll see.”
We could have talked for hours, but Jim had many things on his to-do list—including packing for his family trip to Aruba to celebrate his 90th birthday. And we’re fairly certain he’ll find plenty of things to do there.
Experience Life at Westerwood
Still wondering about some of the available activities in retirement communities? Call us today at (614) 568-0503 to learn more about our senior community activities and Westerwood’s fresh approach to retirement. Set up a visit to experience everything we have to offer in person. Who knows, you may even run into Jim.