I love my home! It is my sanctuary, my safe place, and it gives me joy, peace and serenity! It is accessible, having modifications that make my life easier such as wheelchair and walker wide doorways, strategically placed grab bars, high rise toilets, and a stair chair, to name a few. (The recliner and the stair chair lift are part of my home courtesy of the CPPO DME grant program.)
My home provides me with the tools to live an active, stimulating life: TV, computer, of course a phone, Zoom access, space to do hobbies and jigsaw puzzles, welcoming spaces to entertain friends. It provides me with warmth and physical comfort, furniture I can get into and out of, an electric recliner, heated throws, a stool that allow me to sit at my kitchen counter.
However, my home is more than a practical place to live. It feeds my soul. It speaks to my senses. Over the years I have enjoyed the challenge of furnishing and decorating it with items that I love, cleaning out unnecessary clutter, including all of those obsolete small appliances and that still “good” furniture that no longer has use and decorations that I no longer REALLY like. And this continues to be a work in progress!
My spaces are opened up, providing greater accessibility, but more importantly the resulting spaciousness is calming and allows me to focus on my special things. My decor consists mostly of pictures, artifacts, and plants that I enjoy just looking at and caring for, and it includes pictures of my family and the people I love, and special gifts given to me over the years.
I have music at my fingertips, and scented wall diffusers. I can go into any room in my house and sit and just be, take in the ambiance, relax, maybe read a good book, be content and relish the peace and serenity it provides! I love my home!
My goal is to continue to age in place in my home for the rest of my life. However, if at some time I need to downsize or move to assisted living, a high priority will be to furnish and decorate my new home with items that make me happy, give me joy and serenity, even if it is limited to only a few pictures and maybe fresh flowers that need to be replaced every week! Until then, I cherish living in my practically perfect home!
Just some food for thought!
