Robyn and Nelson Potter moved to Kendal at Lexington in September 2015 from Clifton Park, New York. Though the downsizing and relocation from another state was hard, Robyn now says that she can’t remember ever feeling so relaxed. They are settled and enjoying life in Lexington. Their 1,300-square-foot cottage on Sycamore Lane feels like home.
What does a typical day look like for Robyn and Nelson?
5:00 a.m.: “Early Bird” Nelson has a snack and works on puzzles, reads or putters around outside while waiting for “Night Owl” Robyn to rise. Nelson fills his birdfeeders, and is even caring for his neighbor’s bird feeders as she recovers from surgery. They typically have breakfast together by about 10 a.m. They like to sit on their sunporch to eat and watch the cows graze in the field behind their cottage.
Mid-morning: Robyn and Nelson have quickly become immersed in the Kendal at Lexington community and have each joined several resident committees. Nelson is showcasing a couple of his wood carvings of birds in the resident Art Gallery. In addition, they are ad hoc members of what they describe as the “Mischief Committee.” One recent activity of that “committee” was building a snowman outside of the Borden Center dining room so that the residents of the nursing center could enjoy it. The snowman featured a top hat fashioned out of cardboard, which was hand made by Robyn. A snowman hat didn’t make the cut when they were downsizing, but that didn’t stop Robyn from creating one!
1 p.m.: Lunch together on their sunporch.
Late afternoon: Nelson has begun volunteering at the George Marshall Museum on the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Post, and Robyn is planning to volunteer with gardening activities in the spring. They both use the Fitness Center at least three times a week and always go to the Fitness Center when Housekeeping is at their cottage for their bi-monthly cleaning. They love coming home from a workout to a clean house!
5:45 p.m.: Robyn and Nelson walk over to the main building for dinner. They have met a wide variety of people and are making a point to not get in the habit of dining with the same residents every night. They do, however, have dinner with their friends Sally and David several times a week. Sally went to college with Robyn and Nelson, and introduced them to Kendal at Lexington. Robyn and Nelson first visited Kendal in 2005. They knew from the start that they wanted to move to Kendal while they were still independent and active and could take advantage of all Kendal and the surrounding area has to offer.
