By: Andrew Parker
Building a home is a daunting task. The actual planning, construction, procurement of materials, labor, and certifications can be messy, even with the best-laid plans. Oh, I haven’t even mentioned the emotional swings that occur during this timeframe. And I won’t, for now.
A significant advantage of going through the building process for the first time is the lack of awareness of potential pitfalls. Not knowing about the unforeseen obstacles, mistakes (however honest they may be or not), and necessary timeline adjustments allows for an abundance of optimism and anticipation in the beginning. Energy and eagerness, combined with visions of achievement and barefoot strolls in a finely manicured lawn, protect our sanity, for a while.
All of this said, and speaking as someone who’s gone through it, it’s really not that difficult, once you’ve done it. Expectations become measured, experience becomes reason, and effort becomes discretionary. What I mean by that is, you now have an understanding, a broader scope of the process. You learn to accept weather-related disruptions, human error, and your own reactions with a sense of calm. Sounds a lot like life and the various stages we all go through.
We make choices—big, life-altering choices—driven by our needs, wants, and desires. I’m not referring to everyday decisions, such as choosing between natural and engineered hardwood flooring. I mean the significant ones: choosing a career path, finding a life partner, setting financial goals. Once we make these choices, we develop plans and take deliberate steps to make them a reality. It’s a simple process: decide, plan, build.
As my wife and I look ahead to the second half of our projected centenarian lives, we find ourselves doing a lot of planning—mapping out the stages yet to come.
With exposure to retirement communities and senior living through work and family, we’ve gained valuable insight and understand that finding a community that complements our social, health-conscious, and adventurous lifestyles is a must. Travel, security, and space for hosting our family and friends are important to us.
Homestead Hills in Winston-Salem covers many of our wants. Social activities, such as group outings to sporting events, hiking, and restaurants, combined with wellness-focused programming like aquatic aerobics, archery, and cardio classes, are more than enough to keep us active and engaged. The cottage home options, combined with the maintenance-free lifestyle, make it an ideal choice for this chapter of our lives. Choosing Homestead Hills feels like a natural decision.
We’re excited about a new stage, a new build. There may be a stage between now and our retirement, but rest assured, planning for it is exciting, and I’m confident that the better we plan, the better we’ll build.
The Lifestyle Advisors at Homestead Hills are ready to answer your questions or schedule your tour of the incredible options and lifestyle. and help you with this stage of life. Call (336) 770-2024 to start the conversation.
