Autumn is a season of both comfort and transition. Village Park Senior Living resident, Wayne D., shares how he embraced the transition from his Virginia community to be closer to family and the familiar comforts, simple joys, and new adventures he’s discovered along the way.
Prior to moving to Village Park, Wayne and his wife planned to join a senior living community in Virginia. After his wife passed from Alzheimer’s disease, Wayne’s daughter encouraged him to move closer to their family. Throughout his career, Wayne says he had to move several times, so the downsizing process came easily.
“I decided that I would take only the things that I needed and it could be a ‘man cave’ so to speak,” Wayne says.
While making the move from Virginia to Georgia, Wayne marked the items he wanted to keep, and then donated the rest to a local school. He brought photos, furniture, and mementos that he treasures. He says everything else he could potentially want is easily accessible within Village Park’s 20-acre community.
And food, glorious food!
With three on-site dining venues led by Chef Brent Peterson and his well-trained culinary team, residents can choose from a full-service restaurant, to grabbing artisan-style sandwiches, soups, and more from the Bistro or Rose Point Cafe. The community also takes frequent lunch and dinner outings to local restaurants, including one of Wayne’s favorites—Brooklyn Joe’s Pizza.
“The other day we went to Brooklyn Joe's, 14 of us,” Wayne says. “I've been here frequently so I knew it was a great pizza place.”
Wayne normally eats at Brooklyn Joe’s with his family but recommended it as a Village Park outing to the community’s Resident Experience Team. He expressed that it was great getting to share one of his favorites with his neighbors and friends. As a former executive and social butterfly, Wayne appreciates that his opinion continues to be heard.
“Just to be recognized makes you feel good, and in the same way, when you meet people in the hall, just knowing who they are makes you feel good.”
New adventures
Although his career led him to travel the globe, Wayne continues to find new adventures through the people he meets at Village Park and the larger Alpharetta community.
“Everyone has a story. Some of them are very interesting. Some are not,” he says with a laugh. “But, we all have a story and we all have something to learn from each other.”
Offering resort-style campuses suited to a diverse range of interests, Village Park communities are intentionally designed to create a shared sense of connection and a clear sense of purpose. On-site destinations include a theater, fitness center and pool, library, lounges, and more. Daily classes and events flow throughout each building ranging from Zumba to resident-led devotionals. Each experience promotes wellness, education, arts, and community.
In addition to the community’s onsite social scene, Village Park residents enjoy regular outings to everything from Topgolf to shows at the Fox Theater and recently, to the highly anticipated Van Gogh Immersive Experience exhibit. Wayne, a Van Gogh collector, was thrilled to join the tour. He says he enjoys the way the Village Park community takes into account what he and other residents like to do to create shared experiences.
In the midst of experiencing new adventures and sharing familiar comforts with friends, Wayne has created his own personal mantra. “My slogan here is, friends, family, future, and it's true, we become friends, we are almost like a family, and we have a future, but what’s really indicative of this place is that everyone has a story.”