Mulberry PARC

Jumping right in

For anyone who has ever moved, the transition can understandably take time. There’s new faces and new surroundings to get used to. But new Mulberry PARC resident, Donna has jumped right in. She’s already busy with contributing to resident meetings, learning the names of her 150 fellow residents, joining the gardening club and staying involved in her local church. “There’s lot to do here. I really appreciate the flexibility and freedom here because I’ve always been very busy in my life,” she says.

For Donna, the transition to an independent retirement residence has been easy. Her kids are close by and she’s still in the same neighbourhood that she’s lived in for years and has always known.

“This was a good move.”

Margaret moved into independent retirement living some years sooner than she had planned, and she hasn’t regretted it for a minute.

Margaret took up cycling in her 40s, and has been a member of the Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society ever since. As a nurse who worked in geriatrics, she had seen people who aged with difficulty, but as part of the Society, “I met seniors who were so vibrant, healthy and enjoying life”, she says. Margaret found it so inspiring that she still makes weekly trips to Richmond to meet up with a seniors cycling group for a 30km ride, and she regularly pedals around Burnaby, via nearby trails, to attend medical appointments and go shopping.

At Mulberry, Margaret is thoroughly enjoying the outings, meals, social aspect, and most of all, the opportunities to keep active, both mentally and physically. “When I first moved in, I used to drag myself up the stairs, but now my knees are much better”, she says, speaking of the PARC Fit program.