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I have been lucky in that I come from a semi-large family and there is a core of sisters and cousins and nephews and nieces who love the dickens out of my mother, so she gets lots of attention.
I am writing this because the world of “retirement centers” was heretofore foreign to me and I have been on a steep learning curve. I did visit a couple of places, which I will gladly leave unnamed, and exited quickly, leaving instructions for my kids to simply let me compost in the backyard before they put me in any of those places. Then I wandered into St. Joseph’s.
Now my Mom is a devout Catholic, so that is helpful to her assimilation, but I have been stunned at the welcoming, caring, open attitude of the people in this little Oasis on the east end. First of all, it has one of the nicest little chapels I have ever seen. I think that it was either designed or remodeled by Joe Amestoy, the sweet architectural visionary of the Upper Ojai. But the place itself is nestled into orange groves and is really a garden with a cluster of buildings in the center. There are local people, whose names that I recognize, who regularly volunteer time to read and visit and entertain residents, who come out to play music or tell stories or put on events for the people who find themselves finally landed there…and there has not been a single member of the staff who has not addressed my Mom with kindness and patience and respect.
I sense from Suza’s posts that she is active in such efforts and probably could shine more light on this aspect of our community than I. Yet, after over 30 years in this valley, I was blithely oblivious of the huge elderly subculture of this town. Of course, I knew that this was a “good place to retire”, and I have had friends who lived at the Gables. Yet it has only been with the arrival of my mother and the introduction to the various senior services and the concomitant realization of all the Ojai people who volunteer to make Little House and Help of Ojai and a host of other programs happen that I fully became aware of this aspect of our community.
I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to have discovered St. Joseph’s. It is a sweet little island that I have driven past a thousand times and rarely thought of. (My introduction was when my old friend, Dr. Rupp, passed away and the memorial was held there. But I had never experienced the place.)
As I have stated before, I came to this post out of appreciation for community and the respect for the dialogue that sustains it and holds us together. It has been pleasing to discover this new facet of this community and I deeply bow to those who have made it their work to sustain it.