Seasons of Life

November 23, 2022 by gennavamagic

I told you I was taking some time off from the computer and my office. I called it my summer sabbatical. I realized as I looked at the lovely Fall colors here in Asheville I could no longer say it is summer. I love writing this and adding pictures. Sharing a few with you.

There has been a little “work” done this summer. I did a fun “Lunch and Learn” at my local YMCA where I work out. It was great to get out there and talk to a small group of interested folks about my passion. Connection and Community as We Age. It was just an hour, with handouts, exercises and participation. Since then a few of the members who attended stopped me at the gym to say:

“I went through your book. Very helpful!
I met my neighbors and we are getting together
My husband is getting interested in our next steps”

November means another turn around the sun for me. I am so grateful! A few years back I allowed myself a celebration that I am so glad I did.

When I listened to the glowing accolades about my parents at their Celebration of Life years ago I promised myself to have that kind of thing BEFORE I was dead. I must say it was a moving experience. It was produced and orchestrated by very talented friends. I highly recommend it!

Linda with Kitty and Linda and I in Florida

There are also changes on the home front. My housemates have changed. Linda W. is back in sunny Florida, to her chosen community. I miss her, and my forever housemate, Judy is moving into the suite here at Bettyz Playz.

Judy in Gazebo in summer and Christmas 2021 with Josie

Some of you might know, my two elder kitties Pyewacket (named after the cat in the old movie, Bell Book and Candle) and Persie (short for Persistent) crossed the Rainbow Bridge together on April 6th, 2022.

After a period of transition, grieving for my buddies of many decades and many moves I considered fostering cats. Enter Valentine and Ann Marie, siblings that were billed as bonded cats. I renamed them Frankie and Grace (of course). Frankie turned out to be a very smart, large, curious and destructive influence at BP. He was returned to the rescue organization, went back to his original name and got adopted. PHEW.

Grace lives up to her name and is an angel who loves to catch “Da Bird” flying for entertainment.

I didn’t expect my pause would be so long. Yet a great deal has changed in the world that has affected me and of course others. What I did with my “Pandemic years” included a great deal of time in front of my computer screen. Included were classes I took and some I offered. You also might have seen my face on my Facebook Live offerings that are now on my YouTube station.

That is terrifying and fun all at the same time. I am glad it was available, yet I missed the in-person times.

So what is on the Horizon?

Women for Living in Community will continue, possibly taking new forms and relaxing other things.

I have been at this for over 16 years and I am glad to say I feel I have accomplished my quest.

And there now are many other online resources for connection and camaraderie for older women Revel, TheEthel, and many FB groups around Golden Girl living. I will keep you in the loop on the ones l like going forward.

Bettyz Playz – named after my mom, Betty, and a play on words.

Bettyz Playz is my home and location now of the Asheville Golden Girls- Judy and Marianne.

My intention is to host meetings and gatherings/ workshops, salons, book groups, and more. There will be offerings next year to presenters who would like to take advantage of this lovely piece of heaven in Asheville.

This winter I plan on being in Sarasota, FL where I have many friends and community members on the quest through the years. While I am there Judy and Grace will enjoy this haven with visits from friends and family here at Bettyz Playz.

Progress on MY Quest

Thanks to all of you who have been with me along the way or just joined me. I started out by saying I don’t want to have the later years of my life look like my parents. Well, they don’t for many reasons. And part of it was my intention. And why I have offered you a view of it along the way.

Like many good intentions, mine started out with a FEAR and a negative. I don’t want this.

So I said, “What CAN if do instead?” That was the start of Women for Living in Community many years ago. I won’t go over all the details but I am happy to say as 2022 ends I feel settled. Want to catch up with my quest over the years? From my blog post through the years. Blog of MK’s journey

In a nutshell, my intentions are:

To live like the Golden Girls
Take risks!
Expand my network of friends and community
Stay creative and offer what I have learned about the importance of connection as we age
Eye on the prize, be tenacious

My mission :

To further the alternative housing choices for people as we age.

My future and 2023 :

Share my journey with others- talk to groups, have conversations, and inspire others to take action.

I shall be sharing more here and on Facebook.

See you soon,

Social Media to stay connected:
Links to My Facebook Personal page

Women Living in Community Network – Home | Facebook

Website link – please subscribe and share Women for Living in Community

Youtube channel Women Living in Community – YouTube

Filed Under: My Story Tagged With: journey

What’s Next for Women Living in Community?

March 5, 2021 by Marianne Kilkenny

Transitions and Possibilities for 2021 and Beyond

Things seem to be changing rapidly in many parts of life in our society right now, and this holds true for my journey with Women Living in Community.

In the last few months, some new possibilities have opened up for educating people about aging in community through our network, thanks in part to some successful projects in 2020 and the use of Zoom.

Before I take on any new projects or technical hurdles though, I want to get clear on where I’m heading and what makes sense to focus on next.

So, I’ll be taking some time over the upcoming months to step back and give everything an honest assessment.

Looking back…

Despite the pandemic, or perhaps because of it, I feel like 2020 brought me closer to the women in our network than I’ve been in a long time. And, as you can probably relate, this involved plenty of time on Zoom.

Prior to the pandemic, I had organized a number of in-person workshops based on my guidebook, Your Quest for Home.

But this fall, I offered an online class based on my guidebook over Zoom for the first time in response to COVID.

This wound up including a great group of people, some of whom are still meeting to support each other on their community building projects.

I also found myself inspired to start doing live weekly videos of my own for a time that were primarily shared on our Facebook page.

These videos allowed me to share some of my own experiences as they relate to finding or building the right community. It was also fun to bring out my alter ego The Grand Nudge a couple of times.

Continuing to Learn…

The more experimenting I did with online video, the more I discovered just how much there was to learn and how excited (and terrorized) I was to learn more and dive in.

I’ve spent the last year studying and doing training on the technology and presentation chops needed to let me share my knowledge and expertise online effectively.

My interest in expansion and personal growth also brought me to a course called Modern Elder Academy. Although I’ve always hated the use of the term “elderly,” I found that their take on the term “modern elder” really hit home: It is defined by MEA as:

“A Modern Elder is the perfect alchemy of curious and wise, with curiosity leading to expansive inquiry while wisdom distills what’s essential. But it’s only through cultivating our wisdom, building emotional intelligence, strengthening intergenerational collaboration, and finding a deeper meaning in our work and personal lives, that we become modern elders.”
MEA is a place we can all “grow whole, not old.”

I REALLY like that.

Other turning points…

Pretty much all of my educational materials point back to my guidebook, Your Quest for Home, in some way, and it’s been almost 6 years since it was published.

While I am certain that the book is more relevant than ever now, I’ve been asking myself whether some sections should be tweaked or expanded. So it may be time to turn my attention to a second edition in the future. We shall see.

In other transition news, my right hand person, Todd, is moving on. He has been responsible for a lot of what happens behind the scenes with Women Living in Community.

Thanks to Todd for technology help, marketing prowess, writing chops, and keeping the lights on. Forever grateful.

So… what is next? I continue to learn and hope to help you in new and fresh ways to take action to know yourself as you continue Your Quest for Home.

Until next time, remember, finding your ideal community for your later years is all about three things: Connection, Information and Action!

Filed Under: Community Anywhere, My Story

[VIDEO] Marianne & Friends in “When I’m 65” Recording – Aging in Community

July 20, 2019 by Marianne Kilkenny

I want to share a video that I did with my friends a while back.

I’m passing this along because I think it encapsulates something important that I want you to really see.

Aging in community is beautiful and real, and it’s something that you can really do.

Yes, it takes some planning, discernment, and guts. It requires investing some time, money, and hard work.

But when it all comes together, the rewards are worth it.

This is how we as women were meant to live. Together in community, supporting one another as we age in a nourishing and heart-centered environment.

It’s something that you can do to0. And you might be closer to making it a reality than you think

Maybe you already have a group of friends who would be perfect for this sort of thing if you could find the right spot. Or maybe you already have access to a house, condo, or complex and just need to find your tribe.

Speaking as The Grand Nudge for a moment, you’ve got take ownership of where you are going to end up as you age. You can’t keep waiting for someone to build your community for you and track you down to tell you about it.

If you’re ready to get started with or reassess your aging in community journey, I’ve got some questions for you.

These questions form the basis of my Guidebook, “Your Quest for Home”, and help you define how you wish to live in your later years.

I’ve created a free download of these questions that I encourage you to download. If you haven’t already joined the Women Living in Community network, sign up now and I’ll send it right over.

If you are already a subscriber, you can access the questions from my book here.

Filed Under: My Story, Personal Preparation, Tribe, Your Quest for Home

An Update from Marianne

June 19, 2019 by Marianne Kilkenny

It’s been a while since I have posted here on Women Living in Community.

That’s because I’ve been actively engaged in some community building projects that are close to my part. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I want to take a moment to get you up to speed and share some of my journey with you.

In the past couple of years, I’ve watched as the topic of aging in community has a central narrative in the media as the Boomers grapple with how they want to spend their later years.

Having been a pioneer in this area for over a decade, I’ve appeared in some of the news coverage and had an opportunity to share my perspective. I’ve also had a chance to track the course of some exciting developments that community developers, architects, and designers are creating to solve the problems posed by multi-generational housing.

Along the way, I’ve been hard at work on some projects of my own, which is what I’d like to update you on today. These projects include developing an intentional neighborhood here in Asheville, participating in the Residential Living Academy (RAL), and building a tribe of my own.

So where have I been?

Developing an Intentional Neighborhood in Asheville, NC

At one point, I thought I wanted to be a developer.

I bought a house with an adjacent property and spent years struggling, like Sisyphus, uphill.

I tried everything I could think of, and, while I had a lot of potential interest, no one could help me start the process. I simply couldn’t do it alone.

There was so much to work out. Ranging from infrastructure and zoning to housing design to homeowners agreements, I needed the right people to show up in order for it to come together.

I worked endlessly with the developer, builders, various experts, and officials. I worked closely with several people who were very interested in living here. But the people I needed didn’t show no matter how hard I tried.

And so, one year ago, I sold my property to a developer. The hope was to build several modular homes in the site and expand into a final vision for a pocket neighborhood.

Today, the property is still undeveloped. The project of developing the property may continue, but that is no longer in my hands and unlikely to have community baked into its design.

That’s because it became clear that pocket neighborhood I had envisioned was not meant to be. I realized that I had to let go, and I didn’t have to do it alone.

I held a letting go ceremony with the help of some close friends who had joined or supported me on my journey. This process included the burning of some documents connected with my vision and kind words from friends who had been involved in the project.

Over the next few months, I spent some time in the morning looking out my kitchen window at the larger property, working on letting go. Noticing the wind, rain, snow, and sunshine come and go over those mornings, and something in me eventually shifted.

I was ready to truly let go and had made room in my heart for what comes next. The final step in the process was to build a small fire in the same ashes as the fire of the original ceremony with some time quiet reflection. I was pretty much ready to move on.

What I learned along the way, yet again, is that I really am a visionary. And being a visionary is great, but sometimes it is just not enough. That’s a valuable lesson and something I’m actively working on applying in my life.

Things change, and that’s okay.

So, I came within fifteen feet of my dream, literally. There are some steps just outside my driveway that lead down to an open lot where the community would have been.

While it’s true that I don’t have the type of community that I had envisioned, I wound up developing deep ties with my neighbors during the process. In fact, I ended up with a pretty awesome intentional neighborhood of my own along the way that I’m grateful to call home.

After I sold the land, I put my intention out to the universe. Living in a community of like-minded people was still what I wanted. Since that time, all of the homes around me have become an organically grown community.

Our intentional neighborhood as it stands today was born out of proximity. We’re all walking distance within one another and through fostering relationships we’ve come together over shared meals, a community garden, and more. The neighborhood is made up of renters, homeowners, and housemates of diverse ages and backgrounds.

A big test of our community came when a guest in my own home needed emergency services. When they saw the red flashing lights outside my house, one neighbor called to make sure I was okay. Although the emergency personnel had the situation under control, it sure felt good to know at that moment that someone in our little place was looking out for me and had my back.

We’re there for one another in good and bad times. We’re one phone call away if there’s an emergency or a celebration.

I’m also renovating the brick ranch house that was going to serve as the community house of my pocket neighborhood, and it came out fantastic. I’ve always thought that this house could serve as a great model for shared senior living, a la Golden Girls. And I’m more excited now than ever about its potential.

It’s got a completely new kitchen that can serve as the heart of the home, remodeled bathrooms, improved storage facilities, and more. I look forward to possibly opening this property up for community living again sometime in 2020.

During my sabbatical, here’s what else I got up to!

Tribe Training

In 2017, I wrote about Tribe Training, and I am pleased to say this experience has been transformative. There are 6 people in our group all local to the Asheville area.

What I didn’t realize before this experience was that a group of people who don’t live together can forge even deeper connections than the typical intentional community. We rely on each other, we have each other’s backs, and we’re all interested in building community.

I love the structure, the commitment, and ritual of our dedicated time together. They have become my chosen family and we have learned to grow and age together in a way that’s different than other relationships.

Residential Living Academy

I also attended the Residential Assisted Living Academy in Phoenix Arizona in May of 2018. Started by Gene Guarino, it’s a method of designing residential communities to incorporate an assisted living home within neighborhoods rather than the prisons we’ve designed as the medical model or Continuing Care Residential Communities (CCRC) facilities.

His model targets real estate and business partners for what he calls “doing well and doing good.” Once in place, his concepts can immediately benefit elders living within neighborhood environments. Through my training there, I realized the impact that one person could have in the training of others to embrace this new idea.

I also learned more about why there is so much interest and investment going into viable models for senior housing. As Boomers continue to age, more and more of us are insisting on alternatives to the options that our parents may have had. We want to stay connected as we age, and we want to stay in our homes as long as we age.

And that leads to major investment opportunities for real estate investors and developers who are can stay ahead of the curve. Having learned what I have by going through RAL, I’ve got a better toolbox than ever for aligning my mission with investors and realtors.

Media Exposure and Public Appearances

I’ve also participated in several interviews and feature articles on a variety of media sources, like Parade Magazine and the Washington Post.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see yourself through someone else’s eyes, but both of these articles made me recognize that I was a leader and a pioneer in this movement and I am excited that others are seeing what the future could be.

I’ve been featured quite a bit over the years in the news, television, and radio. That’s because I think that it’s important that we keep having crucial conversations about we live and age together, both with one another and in the public sphere. Moving forward, I’m looking forward to being out there more in the media and continuing to push for the solutions I believe in for living in community.

Upcoming Speaking Engagement

What happens next that I’m excited about? I’ll be speaking at the Living Well annual retreat in Asheville this October. The event promotes the creation of community for a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Where do I go from here? Join me and find out with me!

I did take some time away on what I referred to as a sabbatical from Women Living in Community itself.

And I know the journey is never complete. I have long talked about the mission of living in community and what that looks like. It takes a lot of forms, from my shared home that was featured on NBC to an intentional neighborhood like my own.

It’s not at all the end of my story. It’s not even the beginning. It’s part of an ever-evolving journey that will take me any number of places. When people ask me “What’s next?” I’ve had to get used to saying, “I don’t know.” I don’t like the answer, but I’m comfortable with what it means for now.

It’s time for me to take something I love, Women for Living in Community, and broaden it to encompass the entire Boomer cohort looking for a new way to pave the road ahead. This isn’t just for women, it’s for everyone.

Women for Living in Community can and will take many forms. I’m here to help others on their own paths as they age in place and in community.

It’s time to let Marianne out of the box. There is a lot we can do around alternative housing choices and to engage with that is the next phase of me.

Until next time, it’s a movement!

So stay connected by signing up below.

Filed Under: My Story, Pocket Neighborhoods, Tribe

Spring in Asheville and Progress!

March 28, 2018 by Marianne Kilkenny

Hello WLIC followers!

Been a long time since I mentioned the next steps in my life. Here’s a quick update.

Awhile back I bought the property next to my home. I recently sold it to a developer who is working closely with us to design a pocket neighborhood. There are currently plans for 10 modular homes to go on the property, one of them being mine.

I currently have three friends who are planning on being my neighbors and part of the development as like-minded community individuals. There is room for 7 more modular homes. At the moment each of us in the process of custom designing our modular home and deciding on which lot to place our home. Why modular? It is more affordable, quicker to build and allows me to incorporate Universal Design elements that I wanted in my home. We should be ready by Fall, 2018.Each home is about 1000 to 1500 square feet, so it is small but not that tiny. There is a creek along one side of the property and my current home is adjacent to the property. The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful yet we are close to downtown Asheville amenities. My desire for the use of this land has lasted a long time. Some of you have been with me on this Quest from the beginning and I am so excited that you can follow along in this blog as we begin the building process and developing our neighborhood – our community to live and age in!Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Marianne

Filed Under: My Story, Pocket Neighborhoods

My Compelling “Why”

August 16, 2016 by Marianne Kilkenny

Recently I was asked to write a profile article about myself and my work. Writing about yourself is difficult but it did make me do some heavy thinking about my journey over the last (almost) 10 years. There have been many times when I questioned my progress, especially when the future felt so unclear. But writing the article reminded of the two reasons that started me on my journey almost 10 years ago….My Compelling “Why”:

The quest to honor the memory of my mother, Betty
The desire to find or create a community of people with shared values to grow with live with, and care for each other.

My Compelling Why

I last wrote about my mother in April 2014 for a Mother’s Day article. You can read it here. Watching my mother age in a nursing home was like having cold water splashed on my face… constantly. I was there but it never felt like enough. When she passed away I knew then that this was not the way to end what had been years of happiness and hard work. Honoring the memory of my mother meant finding a better alternative and spreading the word so others did not share in that fate.

At the same time I was caring for my parents, I was going through my own shift – my long career in Corporate HR was coming to an end. I was divorced, alone and facing my future as a “boomer,” like many others. I knew then I needed to find or create a community of people with shared values to support each other in good and bad times.

Little did I know how long this quest would take.

A morning reminder of hope

Always in a hurry for the quick fix, I had no idea the twists and turns my journey would take. The simple step of starting this website in 2007 turned into speaking, teaching and then writing My Guidebook. Locally, I’ve become known as “The Community Lady.” The media dubbed me the “real life Golden Girls” when I was living with 3 to 4 women (and sometimes a guy here or there). In the last year I’ve moved out of shared housing and am now exploring what to do with a 2 acre lot of land – do I build, what do I build, do I create a community?

There have been many times I doubted the progress I was making, but as I look back upon my journey, I realize that the last 10 years have proven to be my own “School on Aging/Thriving.” I learned about the pros and cons, options and alternatives while testing and exploring different models, personally. While this journey is not yet over, I have come full circle to My Compelling Why.

I started honoring my mother the moment I took the big step to moving to Asheville and founded Women for Living in Community. With each blog post I write, speech I give, or with every person who buys my Guidebook and takes that single step to finding their community, I am honoring my mother. I am sharing and will continue to share with others ideas for a better way to age with grace and dignity than the nursing home model.

During all of this, I’ve realized that assets in dollars or possessions are not as important as assets in friendships, companionships, intimacy and belonging.

The quest to find my own community was right there all along. In July 2014, I wrote and published a page on this website called “My Journey” and in it I magically referred to the next chapter of my journey…

(July 2014) “As I go forward into the future, there are many more chapters to this story. Finding my tribe and the place I can bring others to experience some of the things I have learned…”

I have found my tribe

Well, it has been just over 2 years since making that statement and guess what… I attended a workshop in Oregon in May called “New Tribe Training.” New Tribe is something I’ve been exploring for awhile after reading the book, We Need Each Other: Building Gift Community by Bill Kauth with Zoe Alowan.

Unlike many other models, this one does not require relocation or real estate. The foundation of any community, no matter what shape that community takes (shared housing, Intentional Communities, Village to Village Networks, etc.), are the members of that Community and you can create your ideal community right where you are now.

New Tribe is the community you create that begins with yourself and the people who are already around you that you desire to have a close relationship, share specific values, hold each other as a priority and formally commit to each other with the longer term goal of being best friends. If you want to learn more, you can. We are sponsoring a New Tribe Training workshop here in Asheville in October. Details here. I will also be sharing a lot more about this in the next few blog posts as well.

In short, each of us has our Compelling Why for what we do, especially when it’s personal. Don’t give up. Keep trying different options. Keep learning and you’ll be surprised how the answers have been there all along.

Marianne Kilkenny

Helpful hint: If you’re getting this post by email and have a comment to share, please click here and reply at the bottom of the blog post so that way, your comments can be shared with everyone!

Filed Under: History of Women for Living in Community, My Story, New Tribe

The Sound of Silence

May 15, 2016 by Marianne Kilkenny

We’ve been silent since the end of 2015; the silence was intentional – one of renewal, rejuvenation and looking forward. We’ve made significant changes and those changes required time to absorb and adjust. As many of you know I’ve moved out of the shared housing arrangement that had defined me for so many years and into my own home. Many thought this change was a move backward and in contradiction to my quest to promote aging in community. Have you ever heard the saying, “Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward?”

In this case, that’s exactly what I did. An opportunity presented itself; one that allowed me to create my own shared home environment (previously, I was renting the house I shared and now, I own it). What’s more, an opportunity then immediately presented itself to expand my home boundaries and purchase additional acreage. The dream of creating a community centered on the principles of Aging in Community (description here) is now underway to becoming a reality. There will be more news and information on this but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you what’s been happening during the silence:

In January 2015, the Detroit Public TV aired a documentary, “When I’m 65: Rethinking Retirement in America” for which I had been interviewed a year ago. The documentary features people from across the country in the midst of retirement and showcases the challenges, fears and opportunities we all face. As a result of these interviews, they also published 3 videos, one features our shared housing arrangement and the other features Asheville’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville (OLLIE).

You can click here to see the videos (ours is at the bottom).

To see the full documentary, click here (we are featured 46 minutes in) but the entire video is worth watching. Watching this now (it just aired) was a demonstration of how much and how quickly things can change.

In March 2016, I was featured in WNC Woman’s magazine issue. I discussed how “Improvisational Living begins with Community.” It was a great reminder of the mission and vision I have held all these years for Women for Living in Community especially as we move from dreaming to doing in the next chapter. We discussed the top 5 things that create controversy in community which was a great reminder as I begin to work out the plans for a real community in Asheville, NC. We also discussed the missing element of today’s communities that are focused on seniors or retirees and those are the interpersonal aspects of living together, whether you share a house or a community.

Looking forward, I am excited about my upcoming trip to Oregon. Oregon, you ask? Yes, to attend the “New Tribe Training” being held May 19 – 22 in Ashland. If you’re not aware, there is a group of people who have created a supportive network of people, who intentionally have come together as a “tribe.” As they put it,

“Our “new tribe” model is different from the usual “intentional community” as we live in our own homes and not on shared land. “Bicycle distance” is our metaphor for living close enough to meet face-to-face with weekly consistency.”

Why am I attending? I have always been looking for connections with others in my community related work and the groups I have been a part of. This idea of Tribe and how to form it and be a part of it called to me from an article in Communities Magazine. The article describes their history, their process, what worked and what did not in forming their tribe. Click here to read the article.

What do I hope to gain? My hope is to find others who really know me and I know them, spend time together, and choose to be in each others life on purpose, forever. That is what I want. I read Bill and Zoe’s book, titled appropriately, “We Need Each Other: Building Gift Community“ and knew this Tribe Training was my next step. So I am going to the experts.

So, you can see, the “Silence was not about the absence of something, but the presence of everything.” During this silence we’ve been busy and we can’t wait to fill you in on all the details in the coming months.

Helpful hint: If you’re getting this post by email and have a comment to share, please click here and reply at the bottom of the blog post so that way, your comments can be shared with everyone!

Marianne Kilkenny

Filed Under: Cohousing, My Story, Pocket Neighborhoods Tagged With: Principles of Aging in Community

A New Community Tribe: The First NotMom Summit

October 22, 2015 by Marianne Kilkenny

Months ago I was asked to participate in an event that would be the first of its kind. You never know what to expect in these situations but my participation made sense. This was the first ever conference for women without children. The idea was to bring together women who made the choice to not have children as well as those who did want kids but over time and circumstance find themselves without them.

The first-ever NotMom Summit took place in Cleveland, Ohio on October 9^th and 10^th.

How We Live Now: A Review

August 26, 2015 by Marianne Kilkenny

I usually save my favorite books for the holidays but this one was published just this week and I like to keep readers up with the latest news. Even though there are a plethora of books on my shelf that I could recommend this is the one I think you should add first.

Like many of you, my life is always on the go so I can’t always find time in my busy schedule to sit down and read an entire book. But if you don’t read anything else, this is the one to pick up from Amazon today.

Here are a few reasons.

A New Beginning: A Dream Becomes Reality

June 11, 2015 by Marianne Kilkenny

My Vision of Community

This is Part 2 of My Journey. In Part 1 of My Journey, I wrote about my recent move to a mini-pocket neighborhood – essentially developing a group of shared homes. (PS. Sometimes we leave out the most obvious details – as if you can read my mind… I still live in Asheville, NC) I also wrote that it signaled not only an important change in my life but also for Women for Living in Community. To read Part 1, click here.

My Journey: A New Chapter for WLIC (June 5th)

For the past few years I have focused much of my attention on the education and awareness of issues surrounding living in community and aging. I have worked hard to build and promote Women for Living in Community as a resource to families and individuals (men and women) who are seeking alternatives to aging in community for themselves and their families.

I am now beginning a new chapter, a chapter focused on the building and development of a community model for aging in community. A community not focused on the physical structure with amenities (like nursing homes and retirement homes) but creating a community designation that can be adaptable to where you live, whether you live in a single family home, mobile home community or a NORC (naturally occurring retirement community), live in shared housing or any combination of newly emerging models like the tiny-house community.

The fundamental problem with the way we view aging today is the focus upon the physical needs which tend to place focus on the physical models of living such as retirement communities. These are designed and built solely for the purpose of aging adults and their healthcare but not built for their welfare. These models fail to place focus on the “living aging” and it is this kind of thinking that scares most of us. We wish to change that focus and in doing so, change lives and how we “age” in community as an active, living, vibrant part of life.

Group Visioning About Community

In the next chapter of my life, I hope to make connections and partnerships with people, professionals and groups that want to join me as we develop this new community model designation that focuses on the welfare of individuals, families and the surrounding area. This is a model that can be implemented right where people live now, not forcing them to move to some “center”. There will be much more on this. This is a dream that because of Women for Living in Community network, supporters, and people like you, can now be realized. Look out for Bettyz Playz.

Filed Under: Bettyz Playz, Community Anywhere, My Story