ARDENWOODS STORIES - SENIOR INDEPENDENT LIVING

Bernie and Toby Linder- Resident Spotlight

Bernie and Toby Linder have called Ardenwoods their home for almost two years. Prior to their move up the hill, they resided in Laurel Park. Toby was a first grade teacher at Hillendale Elementary and Bernie worked for General Electric. It was through his work with GE’s Elfun Society that Bernie and Toby initially got involved with the nonprofit community in Hendersonville.

The Linders’ involvement in the Community Foundation of Henderson County is extensive. From Bernie’s role on the Board of Directors, Toby’s involvement on the Scholarship Committee, and their donor advised fund the Linder Family Charitable Fund, it’s no surprise that in 2017 the Linders were named the recipients of the Community Foundation’s Sauer Charitable Award.

The Sauer Award is the Community Foundation’s highest honor, presented at their Annual Luncheon to celebrate individuals who provide outstanding leadership through their personal philanthropic efforts in Henderson County. Toby and Bernie agree that their goal in all charitable giving efforts is to make life better for the generations to come, which is a main reason that they have such a vested interest in the local park development.… Read More

Considering Downsizing? Refresh and Renew Your Home!

We love welcoming our surrounding community to events held at Ardenwoods. We think it’s important to challenge ourselves to either learn a new skill or continue expanding our mind no matter what age!

This month we welcomed Robert and Laura Uherka from Simply Change. Robert and Laura are Senior Move Specialists and Professional Organizers. Robert and Laura challenged our attendees to consider 10 questions to get ready for a move. We included them below for you to ponder as well!

1. Is this item something I use regularly?
2. If not, is it something that I love?
3. Am I keeping this out of obligation or expectation
4. Am I holing onto this because I think I should love it?
5. Am I saving this just in case?
6. Do I have multiples of the same thing?
7. Could something else I own do the same job?
8. Am I holding onto a broken item to fix one day
9. Is this item worth the time I spend cleaning/storing it?
10. Could I use this space for something else?

If you find any of those questions challenging for you or you don’t know where to even begin to make those decisions, call the professionals!

Sometimes the hardest part about deciding that it’s time to consider a retirement community like Ardenwoods is the overwhelming stress that can come with downsizing. We understand. You’ve been in your home for multiple years and every inch of it has something special to you, so how can you possibly move somewhere potentially smaller?

Every new Ardenwoods resident receives $3,000 towards a Simply Change session. Organizing your home and tossing old items can be a task that pulls at the heartstrings, but it doesn’t have to be! Join the Marie Kondos of the world and simplify your life and let Ardenwoods help! Give us a call today to schedule a tour.

How Technology Will Change The Way You Age

After threat of bad weather caused a necessary reschedule, guests gathered Wednesday, February 27 at Ardenwoods for our first event of the year. Edward Jones advisor, Doug Rostick, delivered a presentation about how technology will change the way that you age. As we age every day occurrences such as going to the grocery store, driving to the park for a walk or communicating with our loved ones can become more burdensome. Rostick addressed the advances in technology that make maintaining your every day life easier.

In his presentation, Rostick referenced data collected and distributed by the MIT Age Lab. You might think that technology makes things more difficult as you age, but in reality it can serve to make your life easier. Below you will find the five that the Age Lab identifies.… Read More

Sweets for the Sweet in Verse and Dessert Resident Event

Everyone understands the allure of retirement communities that advertise exciting resident events. Having a thriving social life as you make the transition into a retirement community is extremely important. Fear of giving up freedom is what discourages many people from choosing to downsize.

At Ardenwoods we not only offer events planned with our residents in mind, we also offer resident planned events! This Valentine’s Day we helped a couple of residents coordinate to throw “Sweets to the Sweet in Verse and Dessert,” a resident-lead community event.

Our Rocking Chair Readers group joined forces with Dona Marie Nelson to present a special poetry reading with a specialty dessert reception to follow. Paul Bryant, who helps to lead the Rocking Chair Readers group at Ardenwoods offered to focus the group’s efforts on putting together a poetry reading in honor of Valentine’s Day for the community. Shortly after, resident Dona Marie Nelson approached Kari Schrader, Community Life Services Director at Ardenwoods, about hosting a specialty dessert reception for the community. Schrader couldn’t help but envision a joint event to celebrate the holiday!

Each Ardenwoods resident received a personal invitation to the event as well as reminders posted around the campus. What occurred was a lovely gathering of about 50 residents on Valentine’s Day to enjoy live poetry and dessert.

At Ardenwoods we take pride in how community minded our residents are, and encourage them to bring activity ideas to our staff. We love having engaged residents who not only look forward to events, but also want to contribute in any way possible. Thank you to Dona Marie and Paul for all of your hard work and your commitment to our community!

Resident Spotlight- Paul Bryant

”Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”

This is the perfect quote to use when talking about Paul Bryant. That’s what his life has been…one adventure after another with books of stories, to boot!

Paul’s story began in Oklahoma City, where he was born in 1928 and raised until 1945 when he entered what was then Oklahoma A & M as an agriculture student. But after a year, Paul joined the army at the age of 17 (he graduated high school at the age of 16!). World War II had just ended the year prior, and the military was looking for soldiers who could play an instrument in order to establish military bands. As luck would have it, Paul was a trumpet player and was snatched up to enter the Army’s music school at Camp Lee, Virginia, where he first had to complete basic training. After eight weeks of basic training and eight weeks of music school training, he was assigned to the only Army band in New England at Murphy General Hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts, and it was there that he had the great honor of studying under John Coffey at the New England Conservatory of Music! “That was quite an unexpected honor,” said Paul. “I never thought I would be studying under someone so well known, and I really developed as a musician.”… Read More