Jon Keith
We should all know better by now. It shouldn’t keep surprising us, but it does. No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do to prepare ourselves, it still happens. Year after year, generation after generation, it arrives without delay. It stays too long but never lasts long enough. It is filled with both anticipation and dread, and though we never learn enough, we know far too much. It is greeted with great joy and heavy despair. And it is always announced by exclaiming: “I’M NOT READY YET!”
“I’m not ready yet” is the universal cry for all of us. I’m not ready yet for first grade, for crossing the street by myself, for junior high, for getting married, for getting a job, for having children, for leaving the home I love and where I raised a family, for moving to a new community even though I know it will make life a lot better.
We’ll decorate our new homes (our new lives) with the treasures that speak of our history, finding joy in the memories they spark. We’ll bring with us some of the old, add a few pieces of new, and practice the art of blending yesterday with today in hopes of creating another memory for tomorrow.
It doesn’t matter whether you have moved or whether you’ve been in the same place for generations. It is still an unsettled feeling when, for the first time, no one remembers the journey you’ve been on.
Are you ready to plan for your future? “I’m not ready yet” could be what you are thinking. If you ARE ready for a culture of enriched living which is surrounded by vibrant and vital lifestyles, if you could imagine living in a community of professional leaders and educators – a reservoir of lives well-lived where services and amenities abound to meet your every need, then you may be ready! If you seek a place that provides a full continuum of care, a campus that offers a unique sense of place with a location close to the city with a well-established history and sponsorship as a faith-based community, YOU MAY BE READY for what has been named the “Best Retirement Community” in Columbia by readers of this magazine – Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. Visit stillhopes.org or call (803) 739-5040.
