Pajamma Parties

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis

I often write about the changing paradigm of retirement living.  Fifty years ago, a nursing home was all we knew.  Retirement living was only for those who could afford to spend their winters in a warm climate.  If an individual had any health challenges, there was no choice but to wait until they were extraordinarily frail and then move to a nursing home.  Today, many seniors still live with that old notion.  After all, it is not anyone’s goal in life to go to a nursing home.  We recognize that, at times, it is necessary to access full-time healthcare, and when that time comes, we desperately want a good one!   Today, there are many choices for a beautiful, safe, secure, and active lifestyle, long before a nursing home is needed. 

So the picture of retirement living continues to change and get more exciting.  I learn new things every day.  I recently had a visit with a new resident who was designing her apartment interior.  She told me she never had the opportunity to go to college as a young woman and had missed out on the college dorm experience.  She was secretly living out her dream of creating her dorm room apartment.  She was gathering all of her favorite things to bring with her, selecting only things that were meaningful and beautiful.  She said that she felt like her new neighbors would be like sorority sisters. Well, that new paradigm caught on like a firestorm.  Next thing I knew, they were planning pajama parties! The neighbors loved it and joined in the fun immediately.  Why do we think of retirement as the end of the journey?  Why not make it a time to redefine your life?  If there is something you missed out on early in life, how about making it happen now?  

“Don't dream your life, but live your dream.”

Mark Twain