Kennedy Freund, Sales Director at Heritage House, a WesleyLife community in Atlantic, Iowa, is used to helping to change lives -- but her role in the process felt especially sweet as she helped her grandma, Carol, move to the community. Read the story of Kennedy and her grandma below!
Welcome Home, Grandma!
I told someone earlier this week I wouldn’t be able to attend a function because I was moving my grandma into Heritage House. They looked at me in total sadness and said, "Aw, Kennedy. I’m so sorry." I had to laugh because they’ve got it all wrong.
We congratulate people for moving to college because the opportunity to receive a degree is worth celebrating. We congratulate people on the purchase and move to a new home because, wow! What an accomplishment. We congratulate people on all the big “life moves,” but we don’t think to do so when someone moves to a senior living community because people unfortunately believe an individual only moves to a community because they've lost their independence and their health.
Again, they've got it all wrong!
My grandma moves into
Heritage House today, and she and my family are so excited for this move. What people don’t realize is you can get so much more at Heritage House than you have at home: no more being alone, worrying about the yard, the house, and the ability to get out during the winter. The "what ifs" of living by herself are finally over for her!
At Heritage House, my grandma gets to live at a place where she always has a neighbor near to help. The lawn is mowed for her. The cleaning is done. Her years of worries have vanished!
I congratulate my grandma for moving to a community where all she has to focus on is the next event she wants to be a part of, the next way she wants to add purpose and meaning to her life and the lives of those around her, the next porch she wants to sit on, and the next day she invites her grandkids over to see her new home.
She has neighbors who care deeply for her already! She has team members thrilled about her arrival. She has a grandchild in the offices of that same building who can’t wait to get to see her almost every day — and to go to her apartment in search of great snacks!
Heritage House is home. It is a place to look forward to. Whether or not you have your health, it’s still a place to congratulate someone on a move to. You can’t get what you have at Heritage House at home.
I’ve sold many apartments this past year, and I cry almost every time I hand someone the keys because I am just SO happy for them. The peace of mind for the resident and the family is overwhelming, and the joy that follows the move is just a blessing. I’m honored to help families find a home like Heritage House.
This move today means a little more, and I am so proud of my grandma for choosing a place that will ALWAYS be home. Welcome to Heritage House, Grandma. We are so happy you joined the family.