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Intergenerational activities in a retirement living community are not only heartwarming, but all participants are benefiting from the socialization, mental stimulation, emotional learning and quality time. While school-age children are listening to stories from the older adults, the seniors are making new friends and combatting loneliness.

The fact is blooming flowers and sunshine skies are soon upon us, which also means it is a great time for seniors to dust off those sneakers and embrace the many retirement home activities that lead to an active and social lifestyle.

When they think their life is no longer shaped by what they previously deemed as successes, such as career or community contributions, older adults could feel lost or disconnected from what made them fulfilled or mattered to them. But that doesn’t have to be the case — especially surrounded by others in an active adult community.

To date, it mostly has fed the stereotypes of older adults living in a senior living community by reducing their lives to the butt of jokes, a burden, and insignificant. This is a disservice and disrespectful as it minimizes their lives and legacies and misrepresents the social and supportive setting more than 800,000 Americans call home. But in the latest Netflix comedy — “The Man on the Inside” — the world gets a peek into the value of a senior living community and those who benefit.

At the start of a new year, people often raise glasses to health and happiness and make their resolutions. But what if these new beginnings and fresh starts are harder to imagine when all you can see is bumps in the road ahead. Maybe there are tough health decisions that may need to be made, thoughts that it may be time to seriously consider moving into a senior living community and anxiety around what the future might look like or what you might need.

When you picture a “senior citizen,” what do you think of? It’s probably a stereotypical visual—someone in her 70s or 80s, living a quiet existence and doing a solitary activity. She has retired and is living a more relaxed routine. Not so much in today’s world when senior citizens are more active, busy and involved more than ever before. Why? Because the way we view aging, wellness and active senior living is different and influencing how people spend their golden years.

What’s better than a hot cup of tea, coffee or cocoa while looking out the window as snow drifts down from the sky? Watching somebody else shovel the sidewalks while you are snug and warm inside. Ecumenical’s senior independent living apartments offer older adults independent living, with all the comfort and safety that come with being part of a senior care community.

Visiting a loved one who is in a residential dementia, memory, or Alzheimer’s care support program can be really difficult. Your loved one is and yet is not the person they always were. It’s like looking through a stained-glass window instead of a clear glass window. What’s on the other side is exactly the same, but viewed through stained glass the colors, contrasts and clarity are very different. But it’s still beautiful.

One of the most effective ways to assess retirement communities is by comparing reviews and pulling out key factors that should be considered when making this decision. Understanding the particulars can help ensure a community meets your loved ones’ current needs and will continue to support them as they age.

While there is not yet a cure for dementia, there are simple ways to help ease the frustration of a loved one with dementia and improve their quality of life. Some retirement communities employ strategies such as color theory, purposeful play and the Validation Method as part of their comprehensive dementia care services.