The Miles Souris Report

By Charlotte Lewis

While society and social security have established the age proper for retirement, many seniors just aren't ready to pack it in then. They leave their jobs but want to remain independent of their families and continue a lifestyle that accommodates their individual sense of living. This, most often, cannot be accomplished by moving in with the kids. The idea of likeminded people sharing a roof spawned the independent living communities to which today's seniors are flocking.

No more mowing the lawn, property taxes, window washing, cooking every mealtrue retirement is accomplished by moving to a senior living community. Yes, this should be the ideal scenario. But it isn't always utopia. The elder generation wants to retain its independence and its dignity. Life in a retirement community does not guarantee either.

The stories and incidents in this book have been gathered from former and current residents of senior living communities, their families, and past and present employees of several different senior communities. The retirement facility in this book is fictional. But similarities to actual communities are almost impossible to avoid as they are basically so much alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514417805

Charlotte Lewis

Charlotte Lewis, a retired accountant, lives in Southeast Kansas. Charlotte graduated from University of Southern California with a major in elementary education and a minor in music. Since retirement, she has self-published several novels and has published in Reminisce Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hackathon Short Stories, Readers Digest Online, and Mused – an online journal. There's more to learn at charlottelewisonline.com

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Copyright © 2015 by Charlotte Lewis.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5144-1781-2

                eBook          978-1-5144-1780-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 10/26/2015

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FOREWORD

First I should acknowledge that I am not the sole author of this book. I created a narrator and established a format in which the true authors’ stories could be told in a manner acceptable to the reader without revealing sources. It’s difficult writing a book that everyone wants written but everyone is afraid to write. While I spun it together, I consider the many people I spoke with as the ‘authors’ of this book.

The proof reader remarked that this was quite a tell all book. Unfortunately, it is not. It reflects only the incidents people were willing to talk about.

Many of the people who want this book published begged me to NOT let anyone know who they were. I might be asked to leave the community. I’ll be fired if they find out I talked to you. Just hearing these types of ‘excuses’ made me realize it was time to write the book.

Over the course of a year, I interviewed residents of nine different retirement communities. I spoke with several people who had moved from retirement communities. Some of these people had lived at more than one community in a search for the retirement life they wanted. Of this group, two have moved to family adult care homes due to their health; only one has moved with family. The rest have rented apartments - living alone, happily.

During this past year, I also spoke with several employees of retirement communities - current and past employees. The current employees were the most hesitant as they were, for the most part, very concerned they would lose their jobs if anyone thought they had contributed to this book. The past employees were eager to share. Not for revenge for actions against them, as I first thought, but because they have a sincere love for the residents with whom they had worked. It surprised me to discover that about one-half of these former employees have maintained contact with residents.

The elder generation wants to live graciously and maintain its independence and dignity. I found that independence and dignity is often eroded, insidiously, in many retirement communities. That discovery led me to believe no one is truly aware of how life can be in many retirement communities.

INTRODUCTION

A retirement community is a housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves. However, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socialization opportunities are often provided. Some of the characteristics typically are: the community must be age-restricted or age-qualified, residents must be partially or fully retired, and the community offers shared services or amenities.

There are several different types of retirement communities older adults can choose from:

Independent living communities which offer no personal care services.

Congregate housing, which includes at least one shared meal per day with other residents.

Mobile homes or RV’s for active adults.

Subsidized housing for lower income older adults.

Leisure or lifestyle oriented communities or LORCs, which include various amenities.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities.

This book is about independent living communities. Those designed for the still-active senior who has reached the age society deems proper for retirement. Many seniors just aren’t ready to pack it in at 65, or even 70. While no longer in the work force, they want to remain independent of their families and continue a lifestyle that accommodates their individual sense of living. This, most often, cannot be accomplished by moving in with the kids. And so, realizing this, the independent living communities, to which today’s seniors are flocking, were conceived.

On the surface, these communities resemble each other- a lot. They all offer a one or two-bedroom apartment. They offer free utilities often including cable and wi-fi. Many offer full kitchens, though some of the newer facilities are offering mini-kitchens. A major part of the community is a kitchen/restaurant allowing selection of meals and menus in a common dining area. You don’t have to cook every meal anymore. Other amenities are frequently offered - proof this community is better than another - all according to what you’re willing to pay.

But people often forget that these things are basic trappings. Basic. Judging a retirement community on just these physical things can be the biggest error you make when choosing a place you hope to enjoy for the rest of your ‘golden years’.

The hope of this book is to call attention to the ‘little things’ that frequently, no, always, crop up in senior living complexes.

But to tell this story, a fictional housing scenario had to be created. No single community is represented. Meadow Manor Apartments and Cottages was created to represent them all. Any similarity to actual facilities is almost impossible to avoid as they are so much alike.

The stories and incidents in this book have been gathered from former and current residents of many separate senior living complexes; their families; and past and present employees of several senior living communities.

` But what narrator could possibly know everything that needs to be told? One former resident said, You’d have to be a fly on the wall. We know flies have very short life spans and could not possibly survive long enough to tell all that should be told. And while humans live longer, no one human could possibly be privy to everything written here.

And so, in an effort to have a know-it-all narrator, Myles Souris was created. Myles and his family were displaced when Meadow Manor was built. Myles is a grey, Washington field mouse with French parents. Hopefully, having this book narrated by a mouse will not diminish the information it has to share. This information details things that have happened, in a senior living environment, as related by people who have experienced them. The book also details things you should consider asking before signing on the dotted line.

When you go on vacation and put a pet in a kennel, you check it out thoroughly. When and what will he be fed? Is there play time? Will he be isolated or will there be other animals around him? What will his quarters be like? Are they cleaned daily? Often, how much is the last question asked. Doesn’t the housing of you or your aging, senior parents deserve the same thoughtful questions?

My Report on Retirement Communities

What I learned that you should know.

by Myles Souris

The sun was scarcely up when Father came rushing into our home. Martha, Martha, come look. I believe we have a serious problem.

Mother wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and followed Father out. Stay here, Son. We’ll be right back, I’m sure. How she knew I planned to follow her I don’t know. She is exceedingly clever that way.

I have had much opportunity to observe my Mother’s cleverness. She has home-schooled me with much care and forethought. She expects me to behave and speak properly as well as know the school work.

Right back turned into nearly half an hour. Mother was in tears; Father looked stricken. What in the world could be wrong? My parents are usually an unemotional pair. They sat down for breakfast. Father bowed his head and whispered, Oh, Lord, help us. This frightened me terribly. Father doesn’t usually pray at meals - he seldom prays at all actually. And I had never heard my Father ask for help before, either.

After we had eaten, Father and Mother began packing up our few belongings. Packing! Finally, I could bear their silence no longer. Mother, Father, what is happening? Why are you packing our things? Where are we going?

Mother looked at Father and he said, more gently than I can ever recall him speaking to me, Come, I’ll show you. He beckoned me to follow him and I did.

The sunlight was quite bright. I’m usually not outside in bright sunlight; it pained my eyes for a moment. Father pointed to a huge orange machine that was at the opposite end of our meadow. That is a bulldozer. I nodded though I had no idea what a bulldozer was. It is leveling the meadow and removing the vegetation. I nodded. I could see where the earth had been disturbed. The usual weeds and spring flowers were gone.

So why do we have to move, Father?

Evidently I wasn’t seeing what Father always calls the ‘big picture’. Myles, it will not be long before this machine will reach our end of the meadow. Our home will be leveled, destroyed. We must move before we are discovered-or worse, not seen at all and killed. Mother and I have been through this before. After the bulldozer there will be other machines and many people.

I could not move. I was horrified. How can this be allowed to happen? This is our home. Father turned and went back into our home. I followed him - now I was in tears. Where could we go?

The half hour my parents had been gone earlier had been spent in an exploratory search for new housing. Apparently, it