I Wish I Could Sell Units in Ashby Ponds
Years ago my brother and I had to coerce our mother to sell our family home. She couldn't do stairs any longer and the only full bathroom was on the upper level. When we discovered she had been sleeping on the sofa bed and practicing her hygiene from the kitchen sink, we took her shopping for a one level condo in an Active Adult community. We found one she loved in Heritage Hunt in Gainesville. And we thought that would be her forever home. Not so much. Stuff happens that make living in a one level condo tough. Memory problems started and Mom couldn't drive anymore. She was trapped in a really nice condo. Not only that, but the more we learned about how the years would make her memory condition worse, a change was needed.
We found Ashby Ponds, a continuing care retirement community in Ashburn. It is a sister community to Greenspring Village in Springfield. Ashby Ponds is located caddy corner from the Washington Redskins facility and lots of nondescript industrial looking data storage facilities. My running joke is that Mom's neighbors are now the Internet and the Washington Redskins.
Ashby Ponds is an incredible concept. They have independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing care and a rehabilitation wing, all on site. When you buy into the community at the independent living level, you are buying what equates to long term care insurance in the form of a community. You buy in independent and they will never kick you out no matter how much your care costs. They have a benevolence fund that covers what you can't pay monthly.
To a family facing the slow decline of loved with a memory problem, that was music to our ears. So we took Mom for many visits and looked at many units until she finally was ready to make the leap. It was no an easy adjustment. There is a lot of walking when you get to Ashby Ponds. All of the independent residences and clubhouses are connected through what my brother calls "human habitrails." They are enclosed, heated and cooled, windowed walkways.
Ashby Ponds has lots of amenities. Here's a brief list:
Full Service Restaurants, Cafes and Buffet
Theaters (Movie & Live Performance)
Art Studio
Indoor Pool
Exercise Rooms
Billard/Game Rooms
On Site Shuttle between Buildings
Shuttles that Travel to Local Shops
Chapel (Coming Soon)
There are also on campus businesses to include:
Hair & Nail Salon
Bank
Marketplace (convenience store)
On Site Physician Office
On Site Physical, Speech and Occupational Therapy
All of this is in a gated, secure community. You can sign up to get 20 or 30 meals a month whatever dining facility you want. It is part of your Monthly Service Package. There is also no interior maintenance to your apartment outside of cleaning. An appliance needs service, the community handles it. Need a filter changed in your HVAC or a light bulb recessed, the community takes care of it.
The ability for my mother to be able to have one meal a day in a restaurant and have access to a shuttle was enough of an upgrade in her living situation. And the guarantee of care no matter how long she lives into the memory condition, relieved an impending financial burden.
Mom moved in on Halloween 2017. It's taken her a few months to adjust, but yesterday, as we walked through one of the habitrails to Windows Restaurant, she said, "I'm so glad I moved here. This place is so nice."
While I can't physically sell you a unit in Ashby Ponds, I highly recommend it. Minimum entry age is 62. They offer a variety of floor plans to accommodate many budget ranges. My family's only regret is not getting Mom here sooner, when she would have been able to more fully enjoy the amenities, activities and clubs. As it is, I am so pleased to see Mom flourishing in an environment where she is greeted by name by the hostess at the restaurant and occasionally, our favorite server will see us coming and request us in her section.
And while I can't sell you into the community, I would be happy to help you sell your home to buy into Ashby Ponds. Having helped my own mother, I know the emotional stress during the transition. It is my job to ease the added stress of selling your home. Let me know if I can be of help to you.
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