Fate? Kismet? That’s certainly how Bob and Wendy Inman look at the series of events that led to them becoming depositors at Trinity Landing. Other words that might be used to describe the Inmans feelings about their upcoming move are excitement, anticipation and eagerness. Looking at this beautiful new community, who could blame them?
Bob and Wendy are a relaxed, friendly couple with terrific senses of humor. As they approach their 50th wedding anniversary, they decided it was time to downsize their lives. What they needed was to find a Life Plan Community that offered a choice of homes, had an active and social community and one that suited their personalities. What they found was Trinity Landing.
But what was it that made the couple choose Trinity Landing? “Well, for one thing,” says Wendy, “we liked the fact that it was a Continuing Care Retirement Community. Should we need nursing care at some point, we would have a priority to get into Trinity Grove. We visited some other retirement communities and Trinity Landing was far better than the other ones that we visited.”
“Another thing that appealed to us is the fact it’s a nonprofit organization,” adds Bob. “As the sales director was showing us around, she said, ‘We’re here for you. We cater to you. It’s not you catering to us.’ That was a good selling point. It was apparent that the theme for Trinity Landing is that you can grow old and have fun. You can grow old healthy. We met the chef who talked about his philosophy for healthy cooking, healthy eating and the choices we have. We looked at the exercise room equipment. We looked at the various programs that were offered. We’re not going to take up painting, but we’ll go to the gym and work out. It was a package that no other place offered.”
Another thing that influenced the Inmans was their neighbors who had placed one of the first deposits on a home when Trinity Landing started selling in 2017. “Our neighbors are moving in, just a couple of weeks from now,” says Wendy. “She’s been sharing all her steps in moving to Trinity Landing, which is what got me interested. All the pieces of the puzzle just fit together at the right time.”
The analogy of puzzle pieces falling into place at the right time is something of an understatement. Wendy and Bob figure the timing was about five weeks between deciding to sell their house and putting a deposit on a villa at Trinity Landing. Says Bob, “We sold our house in two days. The way it worked out was, this couple had just signed a 15-month lease on an apartment. Then they found out we might be interested in selling our house if the price was right. The price was right. The couple bought our house, then turned around and said, ‘We’ll rent it back to you until your place is ready because we have a lease.’ It all worked out.”
According to Bob, their villa is supposed to be ready in mid-December. “I wish it were today.” Wendy shares Bob’s feeling that their move can’t come soon enough, saying, “We’d move in tomorrow if it was ready. I haven’t been this excited about anything for a long time.”
There are a few other reasons why Bob and Wendy are excited about making this move. “Wendy and I talked about this for a couple of years,” he says. “If we decide to move into a Life Care Community now, it removes any future burden from our children having to care for us if we get sick, so there’s no pressure on them if that time comes. We’ve got it set up. That was always in the back of our minds and went into the decision-making process too.” Wendy takes that thought a step further. ”If one of us had to move into assisted living, we could move to a one-bedroom apartment at Trinity Landing, because we wouldn’t need our villa.”
Of course, along with this move, comes downsizing their lives. But neither Bob nor Wendy appears worried about that. “I look at our house now,” says Bob. “We have a living room I don’t think anyone has sat in for the last 10 years. We have a dining room and the same goes for that. When you take away our living room, dining room and one bedroom — we have four now — the space we’re moving into is about the same size as what we have now. We’ve been married 49 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff. We wanted to get rid of a lot of it, so our kids don’t have to when we’re gone.”
Of course, determining what stays and what goes is not always easy to decide. Bob can think of three things he definitely wants to keep. “If you go out to my garage,” he says, “I have three grills — one gas, one charcoal and an Egg. I asked early on if I could bring a grill. They said yes. My only trepidation was if we got there and they say, ‘You can’t grill.’”
Other than Bob’s grills (especially the Egg), the excitement and enthusiasm he and Wendy share about moving to Trinity Landing are palpable. Part of the reason may be, that they already feel like part of the community. “Two weeks ago, they had what they call a Wine-Down and we were invited to come. It was a nice event. You have a glass of wine or a beer and you talk to people. They had someone playing the guitar. It was very informal and lively. This was kind of the mental picture we had of Trinity Landing, to begin with. Being at the Wine-Down just reinforced what we think we’re getting into.”
Adds Wendy, “I think the tree house down by the water looks like it’ll be a great venue for social activities. We’re really looking forward to socializing down there. We also like the idea that you have a choice of restaurants. You’ve got a casual restaurant and one that’s a little more upscale casual, so we’ve got choices in dining. When we took a tour six weeks ago, just seeing the auditorium where they’re going to have shows and performances was amazing. People from the Wilson Center (located at Cape Fear Community College, it’s Wilmington’s state-of-the-art theater hosting popular musical acts and Broadway plays, plus classical concerts) will come and perform. You don’t have to get in your car and drive all the way downtown, so I’m very much looking forward to that.”
With only a month or two left before they’re able to move into their new home, Bob and Wendy couldn’t be more excited. Asked to sum up their feelings about this major change in their lives, Bob says, “When you get to be our age, anything you can do to make life easier is worthwhile. I’m all for that.” Finishing the thought, Wendy adds, “And that’s what Trinity Landing’s going to be. It’s going to make life easier and more enjoyable for us.” Listening to this delightful couple’s excitement makes it impossible to doubt things will play out exactly as they hope. And who knows? Maybe they’ll even get to move in early.
See for yourself why Bob and Wendy are anticipating living at Trinity Landing — schedule your visit and guided tour today by calling 910-398-9400.