Beverly Griffin

Review of FLIK LIFESTYLES - Westminster ...

I have lived here for almost two years and I absol...

I have lived here for almost two years and I absolutely love it! Moving here is the best decision I ever made in my life! My children might not realize it now, but coming here is the best present I have ever given them.

Living here is like being on a cruise that never leaves the dock. We have fabulous dining venues serving better food than most restaurants, game rooms, lounges, two indoor swimming pools, two Jacuzzis, a fitness center, a crafts room, a computer lab, free cable with TiVo, two beauty salons, garage parking with elevators, on-site medical care (including physical therapists as well as physicians specializing such areas as dermatology, podiatry, psychiatry, etc.)

As a person who has always loved the water, I would say that Westminster Canterbury's most captivating wonderful asset is the beautiful beach just outside our back door. It's located just inside the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, so the surf is gentler than on Virginia Beach itself. The water is shallow for many feet offshore, so it's the perfect place for the senior swimmer whose aquatic skills might not be as strong as in their younger years.

My ninth floor apartment overlooks Cape Henry and the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. Not a bad sight to see first thing in the morning! I have high-power binoculars beside my recliner and I can actually see the pilots climb aboard the arriving ships. If I am curious about a ship, I can go online and can find out ship's destination, its tonnage, its length, its beam, and just about anything else I want to know about it.

Something interesting is always happening here: concerts, bridge games, ping-pong and bocci ball competitions, sing-alongs, bingo, needlework and knitting groups, senior games teams, volunteer opportunities, and all kinds of classes ranging from very physical (paddle boarding, for example) to highly intellectual, to just plain old fun.

I have nothing but the highest praise for the employees here. The vast majority of our staff seems to love working here, and they go above and beyond the call of duty to help us with any and everything.

For example, a few weeks ago, I discovered that a hall mate had just driven alone take her very old, and very sick, dog to the vet. I was afraid that the dog might have to be euthanized, and I didn't want my friend to have to drive home alone. I called the vet and was told that the friend had already left, and that they had put the dog to sleep. In tears myself, I told our housekeeper the sad news. She was on her way to lunch, but upon hearing about the dog, she immediately went into my friend's apartment and spent her entire lunch hour cleaning up spilled dog food and other mess left by the sick dog. As if that were not enough, she found a pretty flower arrangement and left it on the entry hall table.

Another example: When a resident moved into a temporary health care apartment, she told her assistant that the TV did not work, and the assistant called me for help. I discovered that there was no signal coming in from the cable, a problem that could not be fixed until the following day. The assistant knew that the resident really depended upon watching television as her only entertainment, so she stayed after hours (without pay) hooking up a DVD player and rounding up a number movies for the resident to watch until the cable service could be restored. When I thanked her for doing that, she said, "Well, I just couldn't stand the idea of Mrs. _______ being without something to watch until tomorrow." That type of caring and dedication happens every hour of every day here.

I have more friends here than I have ever had in one place in my life, and they are all fascinating people with incredible stories to tell about the life experiences that made them who they are. I truly think, as the saying goes, getting older beats the alternative. Getting older at Westminster Canterbury on the Bay is my idea of paradise on earth. I could not be happier, nor could I feel more secure and loved than I do here!