Mature Life Features

. . . even though we moved in at the end of last month. Reality of the change still has to sink in.

After several decades in our Pacific Beach home that was air-conditioned by Pacific breezes, we relocated at the end of last month to an Independent-Living apartment complex in Gilbert, abutting the Phoenix suburbs of Mesa and Tempe in Aridzona.

The quarters are spacious and comfortable, the location is handy to everything we need – banks, eateries, shopping malls, post office and medical-care offices and clinics – all our meals are provided when we decide not to prepare anything in our own kitchen, the folks are friendly, and we’re just 15 minutes from our daughter and the grandkids.

The move requires leaving our son in San Diego and adjusting to community living as well as the dry desert climate that, we’ve been told by everyone, is H E L L for four months every year.

Besides the voluminous amount of phone calls and document changes, we’re also snowed under with too much stuff. Getting rid of that has become a major priority. No. 1 is changing auto registration and driver’s license. No. 2 is lining up doctor appoints. Stuff-elimination is No. 3.