Residents are Appreciative and Adaptive

By Marty Lee, contributor

While stay-at-home guidelines are in place at John Knox Village, residents are finding the time to be creative and appreciative in their daily activities.

Tom McKay is one of the many residents who usually spends much of his time involved in committees – volunteering to make the community operate smoothly. With social distancing in order, Tom says he is busy putting closets and paperwork in order, catching up on movies, books and walking.

“I always meant to enjoy, getting my full 12,000 steps walking around our campus,” Tom said. “There are friends to catch up with, and family members on the phone and by text. I have learned to use Zoom for meetings I would otherwise have to miss.”

“We are so fortunate here at John Knox Village with many good friends on campus. We say hello, as we do our daily walks around campus. We provide each other with items from our pantry for our individual cooking or entertainment needs. We support each other.

“The staff here are amazing in how they are compensating. They have put together a Life Enrichment book that provides detailed instructions on how to access live entertainment, virtual museum visits, fitness activities, movies, games. If you have nothing to do, it is because you do not want to do anything, not because it is unavailable to you. Sometimes naps are good too.”

Enjoying Each Other And Writing Books

John Knox Village residents David and Twylah Haun are making the most of their free time they can use for reading and writing.

Heritage Tower residents Twylah and David Haun have taken the time to enjoy each other’s company. “We both agree that we enjoy simply sharing together in our apartment, without all the obligations and opportunities here in Village life,” David said. “I have been writing another book—and plan to have it finished when things open up again, and most every day we walk.”

“One of our pleasant surprises has been how good the meals are, which are delivered each day. It still is a surprise each time the meals are delivered to see how much we enjoy them.

“Just this week, we have started cutting and sewing face masks for people to wear for protection against the virus. Some of them will be going to the hospital, where our granddaughter works; some can come to John Knox for our employee staff who are doing such a great job in both giving us protection and offering suggestions and ideas how to keep busy.”

Staying At Home And Informed

Residents Diane and Bob Barton appreciate the dedication of the JKV staff for establishing stringent guidelines to keep everyone safe.

“The daily printed and emailed COVID-19 updates have been an excellent source of timely and accurate information,” Diane said. “The updates explain the gate screening process; self-isolating when necessary; the six-foot social distancing; proper handwashing and how to learn to use Instacart. We’ve learned the importance of staying on campus except for essential needs; our responsibility to keep JKV residents and staff safe and providing a process to secure paper goods. The updates explain the symptoms of COVID-19 and how to care for a partner with symptoms, but not in distress. Plus, we have been guided to websites that offer entertainment, exercise, music, education and games.”

Counting The Blessings

John Knox Village residents Jan Spalding and her dog, Trevor, are feeling blessed to be here and be safe.

Jan Spalding shares her Garden Villa with her faithful companion Trevor. Jan said that Trevor keeps her busy and exercising with lots of walks. Even though Jan has been a JKV resident since 2008, their daily walks allowed her to “discover lovely little niches to sit and enjoy the beauty of JKV.”

“I feel we are truly blessed living here,” Jan said. “There is not a thing that we have to worry about. There are many residents that are fearful. Sometimes that fear can have people make poor choices. We must remember that many of the staff that are being so wonderful to us all are also fearful.

“I just hope that we don’t all start to feel so safe that we forget about social distance, handwashing, isolation, etc. If every one of us can act like we are a contagion, everyone we see is a contagion and that we want to look after each other, we will lick this.”

To learn more about the precautions and efforts John Knox Village is implementing during this time, click here. And for more information about living at John Knox Village and the resort-like, maintenance-free, wellness-focused lifestyle enjoyed by all members of the community even amid COVID-19, click here or call 954-783-4040 to get in touch with our friendly team.