The Baldwin Beat (BB) recently spoke with Ed, a resident of The Baldwin, to learn how he and his wife chose to live at The Baldwin, what they enjoy doing, and how he decided to “put some skin in the game.”
BB: Thanks for making the time to talk with us, Ed. Please share what brought you and your wife to The Baldwin
Ed: My wife, Julie, and I were living in North Carolina and decided we wanted to find a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) or Life Plan Community. We came up north for a week and visited nine different CCRCs including Edgewood and several others in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. The Baldwin had everything we wanted except for one thing: It hadn’t been built yet.
The salesperson showed us a field and said “Trust us. Someday it will be a CCRC.” So we made our deposit, crossed our fingers, and they started building. We moved into our apartment in June 2024.
BB: What led you to choose New England for retirement?
Ed: Julie and I are both New Englanders and lived almost all our lives in New England. In 2007, I took what I call my “premature retirement” and we moved to Florida. I had learned to scuba dive in Massachusetts, so when we moved to Florida, I bought a boat and became a scuba instructor. I taught many people to scuba dive and even taught the instructor course.
When I was teaching scuba diving, I went to the “office” in a bathing suit and sunglasses. When I went home in the evening, I would write computer programs for fun. So, when I decided it was time to go back to work and started interviewing for programming jobs, it was no problem to get back into the swing of things.
I was hired by a company in San Francisco, California, which worked out well since Julie’s mother and sister lived in California and we got to see them. But eventually, her mother and sister moved to Florida. We had one son in Florida, two sons in Massachusetts, and the company I was working for had a location in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was half-way in between. So, we moved to North Carolina. It was nice because we could drive to Florida or New England in a day.
Then, around the time Julie’s mother and sister moved back to California, our second son and his wife in Keene, Massachusetts announced they were expecting our first grandchild. Our third son, who also has a family now, lives in Beverly, Massachusetts. So, we decided we wanted to be back in New England.
BB: How do you like living at The Baldwin?
Ed: I love it! There are a lot of activities, some of which are planned by the Life Enrichment director, Linda Carlton, and some of which residents arrange and Linda facilitates.
My wife plays the ukelele and is in the ukelele group. She does knitting, stitching, art. She assists with the Zentangle class, and she’s even going to Bar Harbor, Maine, for a Zentangle retreat.
I ran the general store for almost a year and coordinated the volunteers who served as salesclerks. I was also on the committee that created the bylaws for the resident council. I walk every day — sometimes long, sometimes short — and I like to hike. We have a group that hikes on the rail trails. Last year I planted herbs in the garden area. And I teach a juggling class once a week.
BB: When did you get into juggling?
Ed: I took up juggling in college but had put my juggling stuff in a box someplace. When we moved to The Baldwin and unpacked boxes, I found it. I was a little rusty at first, but it came back to me faster than I learned it the first time.
BB: How does one learn to juggle?
Ed: One ball at a time! You start with tossing a single ball from one hand to the other and, if you can do that reliably, then you add a second ball and so on. Then, it’s practice, practice, practice. Juggling really helps with hand-eye coordination, which is easy to lose as we age, and it’s a good challenge for the brain.
BB: I understand you recently did something that might surprise people.
Ed: Yes! I got The Baldwin logo tattooed on my arm. I had thought about getting a tattoo for a long time, but nothing ever called to me. When I worked on the boat, I thought about something with a nautical theme but, again, nothing felt right. I do have a couple very small tattoos, including my wife’s initials, but I also wanted something that was more of a picture.
Then we moved here and, every time I’d go for my walk, I’d see The Baldwin logo [on the sign]. I think it’s a beautiful pattern and it called to me. I decided that was what I wanted to get because I am going to live here for the rest of my life. No regrets!
BB: You must really love The Baldwin.
Ed: I do! I do! There are so many little things that make living here wonderful. Everyone here is very friendly and there is a wide variety of talented, intelligent people. Artists, musicians, authors, physicians. There are a number of different music groups, including a Celtic music group, and we have at least a dozen published authors.
If we get a package, it’s delivered to the front desk and then The Baldwin staff delivers it right to our door. We have housekeeping service. There is a huge variety of activities, and they bring in all sorts of performers. They also do lots of special things around holidays. For example, tonight there’s a Seder dinner for Passover. I’m not Jewish, but they’ve invited everyone to participate, so I am going. They also have a big Easter dinner planned and many other special events coming up.
BB: What would you say to someone who’s considering a move to The Baldwin?
Ed: Peace of mind was a big part of why we wanted to find a [Life Plan Community]. We didn’t want to be a burden on our families. We wanted The Baldwin to take care of us instead of our kids having to do it. We can get many services in our apartment and, if either of us ever needs full-time assisted living, it’s right here at Orchard Inn and the other one can remain in our apartment. It’s wonderful to know we can both stay at The Baldwin instead of having to move to a different place. I have no regrets!
To learn more about Community Life at The Baldwin or to schedule a personal tour, use our contact form or call 603.699.0100.