A Gift of Personal Time

Few people anticipated how greatly COVID-19 would impact life in 2020. Thankfully, the Paradise Valley Estates community and our 550 residents have weathered the situation exceptionally well.

With California’s extended shelter-at-home requirement, many residents experienced a new first in the spring of 2020 — it was the longest time period they’d ever been able to spend at home. Here’s what a few of our residents experienced and appreciated about the spring quarantine.

Lonna McDaniel wishes she could say she spent the weeks learning a new language or taking up painting during the quarantine, but she didn’t. She did, however, read more books than she can remember and took another big self-care step. “I took advantage of no meetings and committees to center my brain and rid myself of stress,” she says.

Betty Rawlinson started knitting a baby blanket for a family friend and took an extended trip down memory lane by going through boxes and albums of photos. She also enjoyed walking and feeding the dogs she saw biscuits, and she used the downtime to read — a lot. “I have read more books in three months than I probably have in three years thanks to our wonderful library,” Betty says. Dave Eller also read and worked on different kinds of puzzles. With no meetings on the calendar, Dave enjoyed the extra time he was able to spend with his wife, Elaine.

For Lonna, the downtime gave her time to help others in her community. She and other residents made wellness calls to check in on fellow neighbors to help if needed or simply just to talk. “The calls gave me opportunities to help solve a few problems for people I spoke to,” says Lonna. “The initial calls were short. By the second month the conversations were longer as the isolation set in.”

While Dave enjoyed time spent outdoors walking and visiting with others from a safe distance, his greatest investment happened closer to home. “The best improvement on my life was the time spent sitting on the patio and contemplating whatever was on my mind,” he says.

Visit the Greater Good to learn how our Life Plan Community residents and team members are working hard to keep our community well and safe.