I and the rest of my 91 year Mom's progeny are very grateful she decided to retire from New York…read more nearly ten years ago before Mom thought she was ready for a retirement community. She chose to buy into Collington Life Care Community http://www.collington.com/ [non-profit CCRC] in [Mitchellville/Bowie, Md] in suburban Washington, D.C. Right away Mom plunged into lots of activities, planted the garden around her gracious cottage, took exercise and literature classes from Prince Georges Community College, on Collington Campus, and made friends with other active retirees and the very caring staff. She didn't partake of birdwatching, vegetable gardening, swimming, nearby golf courses, and some other outdoor activities. She chose to take on leadership roles in the Collington community and delivered Meals on Wheels. http://keepingupwithcollington.org/ When she broke her hip she was received rigorous and effective rehab while temporarily resident in the health center. When we 'made her' give up her car she was able to get to the Metro, shopping, doctors' appointments, Kennedy Center, Arena Center, and more via the Collington shuttle. When she had a small stroke she again moved back to he health center to receive rigorous rehab. Now she is back in her cottage, this time with a few hours of aides to help keep up her activities. Now as we spend more time walking the halls and grounds with her it's so gratifying to encounter numerous friends among the residents and staff who cheer on her recovery. I wish such stimulating, safe, and nurturing communities would be accessible for the growing upcoming senior population.

My very active mother, from Annapolis, Maryland, entered the Collington Community at 84, 6 years…read moreago. She lived in a beautiful cottage where birdwatching, gardening, music, walking her dog and making new friends filled her days. Using Collington transportation she had season tickets for the opera, the symphony, Arena Theater as well as enjoying many other cultural events at Collington and beyond. My 3 siblings and I fell in love with Collington's embrace of our mother and willingness to allow us to fully participate in Mother's life. In many, many ways through the years it became obvious to us that Collington valued its residents and wanted to encourage family involvement. The fabulous Sunday brunches, instituted by the head of dining services, Eli Ayoub are one of many examples. On any given Sunday one sees dozens of families, including children, grandchildren, even great-grandchildren enjoying the brunch together, feeding ducks on the lake. In these past two years, after a nasty fall, our mother was confined to assisted living. The care she received on Chesapeake was always compassionate and respectful. We grew to love each and every one of her caregivers. Again, we were encouraged to be there as much as possible. When the final days arrived our large family did vigil for a week. Instead of encouraging us to limit our visits, Eli arranged for a large hospitality tray to be delivered outside