Won't you be my neighbor

Two years ago I bought a house.  Well, a townhouse.  But still, I bought it.  (okay.  I bought 3% of it, but in 28 short years it will all be mine).  As a single lady, I was looking for something low maintenance, as my handylady skills and time for improvements/upkeep are limited.  So, a townhouse/condo was perfect for me.  Needed little work to move into it, and lawn maintenance, snow removal, roof, trash, etc are all taken care of for a large nominal fee. But, like I said, it's perfect for me.

However, you know who else loves a condo/townhouse where everything outside of the walls is taken care of for you?  The elderly. Boy do they love it.  And is my condo association full of them!  Some of my friends think I should move somewhere with more people my own age, but I think the elderly make perfect neighbors.  They don't make a lot of noise, they can't hear you if you or your guests are being to loud, and if anyone robbed my house, they'd surely tell me about it. So, I thought I'd share with you a few of the characters to whom I get to live in very close proximity.

Liz - (if we've talked in the last 2 years, you know about Liz).  She's is 95.  Never married, no children, still lives on her own.  Her hobbies are staring out the storm door at the neighbors (she watched me on my move-in day for a solid 5 hours), wandering slowly around the neighborhood in the middle of the street, and getting her hair set on Fridays (we go to the same salon).  She can't hear well, so having a conversation with her is nearly impossible.  My favorite interaction with her is when she introduced me to a new neighbor and told them all kinds of information about myself that I had never told her, and I have no idea where she gained the information.  Maybe the hairdresser?

There's The Couple 3 Doors Down.  The husband turned 90 this summer, I'm guessing the wife is a little younger, based on her description of his 90th party, as it didn't sound like she had turned 90 yet.  They are very sweet, and very friendly, although I have been introduced to her 3 times and each time she says "Oh! How nice to meet you, when did you move in!?"  They keep to themselves mostly, and don't stare like some of the others, but the real treat was last week when I saw the husband retrieving his morning paper about 20 feet from his front door in ONLY boxers.  It was special.


Then there are The Pool Ladies.  A group of women whom I never would have met, except they have become friendly and welcomed me into their pack at the pool.  They are all retired, so they are at the pool every day.  I am only there on Saturdays when I don't have to work or Sundays.  I feel like I've gotten a pretty good tan this summer, but these women make me look albino.  They range in hue from deep leather to purple.  They think it's too cold to be at the pool if it's less than 95 deg outside and won't get in the water if it's lower than 88.  It's nice to have friends at the pool, even if the youngest one is at least 35 years older than me....  (This weekend I watched one of them sit down and slather herself in baby oil.  I am not joking.  People still do that, apparently)

I could go on, but I'll refrain.  Maybe more neighbors at a later time....