Merry Christmas!

It is that best time of the year and I hope all of you are with family and rejoicing.  Given that I have 2 grandsons who are 6 and 2, I am very much aware of the wonder of it all. What fun it is to experience it through their eyes.  Wesley is beginning to read so I realize this is the last year that I can leave lists or packing slips sitting around.

I am most grateful that schools are closed for 2 weeks because it means I get more time with them. Everyone here at the OFH knows Wesley well (he has been coming ever since I moved in) and are getting to know Finn.  Wesley struts around the place, delighted that he can show me the way to wherever it is we are off to visit.  He loves working with me in the Cage (the big storage area where I sort donations for the resident resale shop that I lovingly call "The Dead People's Store") and writes prices on tags for me.  Today was pool volleyball and he was our "ball boy" - playing in the pool but ready to get any errant balls that flew out of the pool beyond our reach.  His favorite places? #1 is the art studio where his neighbor Kristen is one of our art therapists.  Ssshhh, he made a night light for his parents. It will be ready tomorrow for me to pick up.  He has also made an ornament and helped other residents make their own Christmas decorations.  #2 -The Waterfalls Cafe where he heads right for the ice cream bars.

Finn's favorite activity here?  Well, at almost 3, he loves to stomp in the elevator in his bright green frog boots.  His stomps make wonderful, resounding, slapping sounds.  He pulls himself up along the bar at waist height in the elevator and launches himself down onto the floor, a proud smile as he lands loudly.  I have learned which residents find it charming and which looked pained. We avoid the latter.

So from my heart to yours - I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that we all have a peaceful New Year.

Volleyball at the OFH

I love swimming.  I love it with a passion. Over the years I have swum enough miles to cross the US. One reason I chose this retirement community is its indoor pool. Actually I prefer outdoor pools but the winter can be dicey and I want to swim year round, so indoor pool it is.

Perfect, yes?  No. There is a problem in paradise. The pool isn’t open as many hours a week as I would like. The reason continually expressed by our administration is that not enough residents use the pool to justify the cost of more lifeguard-hours.

So the battle is on.  Donna vs the Administration.  

I am careful. Stealthy.  Quiet. Clever. Planning for a long siege. 

Goal:  Increase resident use of the pool

Step 1  Stand up for what I believe: Point out repeatedly that pool exercise is best because it reduces strain on the joints. 

Step 2  Volunteer to write a column (The Pool Corner) in our monthly in-house news magazine in which I extol the wonders of our pool.

Step 3  Form a Swim Committee to get like-minded residents on board with improving swim conditions here at the OFH.

Step 4  Start a Balance Class in the pool with the tag line – A class where you can’t hurt yourself if you fall!

Step 5  Organize an open house at the pool with cupcakes (to get them there) and a silly contest (to keep them there) - Which team can build the most unusual floating sculpture out of pool tools – fins, board, weights, etc?

Step 6 – Organize a pool volleyball team - my latest venture. 

What I didn’t expect is that I am having so much fun. Okay, all of you who know me know that athletics is NOT my strong point.  Yes, I once ran a 5 K race but my jogging pace was slower than a lot of the walkers who passed me by. Yes, I swim but not fast. And volleyball? I haven’t played since 8^th grade. But guess what?  It all comes back once the ball is in your hand. And here is my big advantage. I’m the youngest on the team by 10 years at least!  All the others are in their late 70’s – 90’s.  I kid you not - I am like the whiz kid.  I leap up and slam the ball (well, let’s be honest here, hit the ball firmly) and sometimes it even goes over the net.

We are simply awful but spend so much time laughing as we flounder in the water that we don’t care.  We happily come back for more each Wednesday afternoon from 1-2 pm.  Note this is during nap time here at the OFH so my teammates are committed.

Now we are thinking about taking on other teams from nearby retirement communities.  There are a few things we need to get done, however, before this can happen:

1. Play by the actual rules of the game.
2. Learn how to serve effectively.
3. Get more people on the team so we each have less pool territory to cover
4. Have toweling robes with our team nicknames embroidered on the back  – I’m thinking, “Slugger”, “Spike” etc.

We have one advantage – our coach.  Frank has 25 years of experience in pool volleyball and loves the game. Yes, he can no longer lift his arms above his shoulders so he can’t play himself but he is happy to sit at the side of the pool and coach us. And he is good at it as well as gentlemanly, funny and observant. What I love most about Frank? He is 92 and going strong. Okay, I drive him to the pool each Wednesday (it’s 2 buildings away) because he walks slowly with a cane but all our effort will be worth it when we become famous as the toughest old folks in Portland.  Wish us well, please. 

I will let you know when we get more pool hours.  I AM determined.

River Envy

Yes, indeed, it has been many months since I have written and lots of things have happened.  Too much for one blog so I plan to write lots of short ones all in a row.  Finally, I feel the urge to write.  So get ready.

A year ago I moved to a different apartment here at my retirement community (or the "Old Folks Home" or OFH).  I will admit that in my almost 3 years here I had developed a strong case of River Envy - wanting a better view of the Willamette River - than my first apartment offered. It came about as I visited apartments of friends around our campus and realized that there was a LOT more of the river to be seen from different floors and wings. So, when an apartment with a great view became available, I grabbed it. It is still teeny - the same 421 square feet of my original apartment - and on the same floor but my new wing has a spectacular view.

Now remember, I am a horrid photographer so here goes:

I now have an end apartment so have windows looking out at two angles.  Our building is on a ridge about 50 feet above the bank of the river.  This was in early Fall.

The view is very different today.

We have had a week of rain - torrential at times.  There was flooding in several parts of Portland, many trees came down, electricity out, etc.  We even had a small tornado touch down in a town across the river.  Look at the water in the photo above - so brown from carrying all the upstream silt down to the mighty Columbia. Just a few months ago we were concerned about how low the river was - not any more. It is rushing downstream, bringing all kinds of detritus with it.  I watched as a long dock, now broken into 3 parts, flew past my windows.

This intrigues me.  The owners of a home right across the river from us (it's a very high rent area) have a sea plane with its own dock.  It was always a bit away from their sailboat dock but now, given the swollen river, it is at mid-river level. I am amazed that it has not come loose through all the commotion.

I find myself looking out at the river at all times of day and night in this first year in my new unit. I can see it from my bed (the moon says hello each evening) and have my writing desk placed in front of my living room windows (where I took these photos). I face west so also get spectacular sunsets behind the hills across the river. It is mesmerizing, especially now. I am very glad that I am safe and warm and am sorry for those plagued by the flooding - but oh it has been incredible to watch.