We have had an exciting and busy week at the club! Our staff orientation was last Sunday, and we have been fully staffed since, with the exception of the Wellness Consultant. The Wellness Consultant was not needed because we had no one interested in applying for membership….until Wednesday. We have yet to do the Wellness Consultation due to my error. I forgot to ask my friend to fill out the Inventory section of the Wellness Map, where the potential member’s name, address, phone number, emergency contact, personal physician, preferred hospital, etc. are recorded. She and I talked on the phone and I took down the address. I gave our Wellness Consultant the address over the phone when I should have sent it via email. Do you remember the childhood game of ‘telephone’, where children seated in a circle tell the person next to them a word, and they in turn tell someone the same thing, and by the time the word goes around the circle it becomes something else entirely? The Wellness Consultant heard a different name for the street. A valuable lesson was learned….I will never forget to have the Inventory section of the Wellness Map completed before a Wellness Consultation again! Thankfully, my friend forgives me and we will try again next week.

We have been practicing massages and other spa treatments, ordering more spa and dining supplies, getting to know one another and the routine of the club. We have been putting together a stockpile of Wellness Maps, so that when a potential member asks to become a member, I or another club staff person can grab one and fill out the Inventory section for the Wellness Consultant to take with them to the appointment in the potential member’s home. All the while the contractors were redoing our drainage problem in our garden, just outside of the gym. I have had messes to clean up all week because of the rain, drainage problems, and mud. But now it is almost finished, and I am grateful.

We had a wonderful presentation from Sarah and Derek from the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging on Thursday. They gave us very useful and practical advice for how to recognize dementia and how to keep our brains young. They said even folks who have dementia can slow the progression of the dementia by doing the things they recommend…diet, exercise and challenging the brain with activities and social interaction. Please come to our next presentation to hear the specifics. Sarah and Derek said they would love to come back and they would be happy to do the same for any organization who invites them!

We received a copy of our license this week, which we will hang humbly in our foyer.

We are going to begin serving meals next week.

God is so good! The people He has sent us are phenomenal and I so look forward to working with them. And He is still sending us people. I am grateful too for a special friend who keeps reminding me how precious and special it is to live to be eighty something and in good health. Her knowledge and memories never cease to amaze me. And she is so good to us, donating her time, skills, and energy to the club’s cause (improving health and quality of life). We have another champion in her 70’s. And another in her sixties just joined us as a volunteer.

We will be calling people this week to ask for volunteers to help lead club meetings and to tell a funny story or a joke for “Tea and a Tale Time”. And if you know someone who would like to be a guest speaker or entertainer for an hour, please give them our information. We invite the community into our club so they can learn along with us. Knowledge is power! We need knowledge to age gracefully.

Coming soon is a new website with a page showing pictures of the art we have for sale at the club. Artists are invited to display their work to sell as space becomes available.

May you and yours have ‘lazy, hazy, crazy (in a good way) days of summer’ (do you remember that song?) this coming week! Feel free to come visit!