Interview with Four Elms Retirement Residence - Verve Senior Living resident, Gilda

From my first impression, Four Elms was very, very friendly. Everybody was very very good to me, and I felt at ease right away. I felt at home right away.

I didn’t need a long process to get used to. I got used to it right away.

With my two daughters, we just went to the apartment, cleared it out, gave away what anybody wanted, and the rest was given to charity. And then I came here. I was in a respite room, so the girls said, stay there and in a half hour they had the whole room, the whole suite done. I had a small unit, so we just made it one, two, three.

I started to go down to programs right away so I would get to meet people. And I met lots of lovely people right away, and that was it. It was an easy adjustment at Four Elms Retirement Residence.

The building and amenities at Four Elms Retirement Residence are very good. My room is fine. I know where everything is.

I participate in lots of programs, and that’s it. That’s what you have to do. 

Have a positive attitude. Go meet new people, mingle, and you’re fine. It’s just the next stage of your life at Four Elms Retirement Residence.

For me, the social life at Four Elms Retirement Residence is very good. I made lots of friends, and you have to participate. You have to go to the programs and meet the people.

There are a lot of different programs. You pick what you like. I like the puzzles but I’m not a game person. I love reading. I belong to the poetry group. I do the exercises. It’s what you find that is close to you that you enjoy.

And there are always people there. You’re not alone. And that, I think, is very good.

We had a few cases of COVID, and we were stuck in our room. So when we could get out, it was a pleasure. We did have a book club at one time, but the girl is no longer here because I’m a reader.

The programs that I like at Four Elms Retirement Residence are the concerts. I love that because you have a lot of varied people, from an opera singer to a guitarist or pianist, and I enjoy that very much.

Have a positive attitude. Be a joiner. Be upbeat and don’t kvetch, always putting down everything. Just don’t be a whiner; that’s it. 

In every stage in life you’ve got to adjust. In my life there were lots of adjustments, but you muddled through, you muddled through. What helps me is I have a fabulous family and we’re very close. So I have the daughters, sons-in-law, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren, and they’re all very good to me. So that helps a lot.

What you do is come into Four Elms Retirement Residence, get acquainted with the place, go to the programs, get to know the staff, and just participate, and you’ll fit right in.

When we were younger, we had to go fit into places, and it’s a positive attitude that makes the difference. That’s what it is, a positive attitude.