Written by Scott Miller
At 7:00 in the morning I dropped off our car at New Holland Auto for a free oil change and checkup. The “maintenance” light was on. New Holland Auto runs a shuttle to Garden Spot Village for its customers and the driver was a guy I knew. He retired about 5 years ago.
The conversation turned to how long he had been driving and the response was one many people identify with, you might as well. He said, “I started right after I retired. I drive twice a week. You got to have something to do. You can only mow the grass or take out the trash so often. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself. Plus my wife told me I need to find something to do.” That’s a husband comment that is pretty typical: “My wife told me to go find something to do!”
Contrast that to a Garden Spot Resident who recently said, “If you die of boredom at Garden Spot Village it’s your own fault.” If you’ve read any of the stories about Garden Spot or been browsing around the website you know that Garden Spot is passionate about providing abundant opportunities to live with purpose in community. The lifestyle is all about engaging in things that are meaningful to you with other great people.
At 4:45 in the afternoon another shuttle arrived at Garden Spot for the return trip. This time a Garden Spot Village resident who works at New Holland Auto was driving. He moved in last October. He had a fascinating story about how he can see his previous house from the patio of his new place. The comment that I found most fascinating was, “We are so happy. We had big flower beds and the lawn to take care of. I just don’t want to spend my time doing that anymore. I’d much rather do something that is redemptive.” In other words, doing something that is good for the soul and good for others.
There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who drift into retirement not knowing what on earth to do with themselves. Life for them revolves around household chores and busywork. Then there are those who set out to do something meaningful that gives them purpose and impacts the lives of other people.
“Abundant opportunities to live with purpose in community.” That is the Garden Spot promise. In addition to an incredibly affordable (a guy told me the other day it is cheaper to live at Garden Spot than it was to live in his previous home) and beautiful place to live where you don’t have to worry about the vast number of household chores, you get a lifestyle that people say greatly exceeds their expectations.
Whether you don’t know what to do with yourself or you have a pretty good idea of the types of things you plan for the future, Garden Spot makes it easy to get involved in things that are meaningful to you, that help you live fully and experience the wellbeing that comes from ongoing purpose in life. Imagine how wonderful that could be.