Responding to complaints, I have changed the title of this series. The “Final Chapter” title had merit but was too heavy, and besides I will be interspersing life at Collington posts with other material, given the existential crisis our country is facing.

When  people have asked me what makes Collington different from other senior living communities, I have cited several things—that it has a beautiful campus including cottages, “villas,” and apartments, surrounded by a forest, yet is less than two miles away from a Metro station which provides 30-minute access to downtown DC, that it is one of the early non profit CCRCs with a long history of providing three levels of senior living including high quality supportive care for those who need it, that it has a strong value system stressing inclusion, that it is now a Kendal affiliate, and that there are a lot of interesting people who live here. And compared to many CCRCs in the area, it is more affordable and, in my opinion, a better value than most other options. Another reason that Embry and I  chose Collington, of course,  was that I did the initial market research and financial feasibility study for the proposed community and spent six years on the board (as treasurer) during a period of challenges in the early 2000s.

But that is not all. There is something else which I will call “the Collington Soul.”

Every week Collington puts out a calendar with the schedule for the week. There are all sorts of things to do every day—committee meetings, occasional concerts, Monday night movie, trips to the grocery store and museums and events downtown, all sorts of health activities, and various other gatherings. This past Friday afternoon there was a listing for “Game Day” in the auditorium. Since I am not much of an enthusiast for games, I thought I would give it a pass; but shortly after the 2:00 PM starting time, I decided I would wander down to the community center and peep in. When I opened the door, the large room was full of people mulling about, with soul and pop music blasting away, and one of the Collington food service staff was singing to a  karaoke song  on the stage in front of a huge high-def screen showing the words. It felt like I was at a carnival. All types of games were going on—corn hole, block building, bean bag tossing, tabletop bowling, and a whole bunch of other activities that were accessible to old folks.  There was a booth serving popcorn, another serving drinks, and another cotton candy—all free. But what made the event special was that the Collington staff were joyfully participating alongside the residents. Some were directing the games and others participating in them. Ann Gillespie, Collington’s CEO, was in the middle of it all, wandering about and encouraging participants. And the residents were mostly from the Creighton Center, Collington’s assisted living and memory care community. Of course, the staff were almost all people of color, mostly in their 20s and 30s, and most of the residents were old white folks in wheelchairs or using walkers. There were high fives, smiles, and hugs going around between and among staff and residents. Several of the staff were spectacular Karaoke singers and fabulous dancers, and the Collington workers seemed to be having as much fun as the residents—maybe even more. There were also a bunch of independent living residents like me there as well, observing and participating, and everyone was smiling. I only stayed about an hour, but that hour was precious and for a moment anyway seemed to bridge the barriers of race, class and age.

Who knows? Maybe events like this happen at other senior living communities. That it happened at Collington, however, is what counts for me. Bravo! Kudos to the staff and all those who made it happen. I understand that this was the first “game day” at Collington though Collington has had similar events in the past. I hope there will be more to follow. These kinds of activities are what illustrate what I call “the soul of Collington.”