I was 72 when I began looking for a retirement community, specifically an accredited CCRC (continuing care retirement community).  As an involved member of two families, I wanted to assure them that they need not be concerned for me as I aged. I wanted them to know that their concerns should be for their homes and families, and not for me. Through research, I identified 19 facilities on the East Coast, all within an area that experiences each of the four seasons--one of my requisites.  Carrying a list of 15 questions, I visited each over a period of several years as I traveled back and forth between my homes in New Hampshire and South Carolina.  But it was an incidental remark by my sister-in-law in Delaware that led me to the 20th possibility-Heron Point. Knowing nothing about Chestertown or the Chester River, I arrived here through the open spaces of rural Eastern Shore and was delighted by what I saw.  Discovering Washington College, I became even more enthusiastic. But what mostly secured my decision about Heron Point was what I saw as I walked into the lobby of the main building:  there was a library with people in it, reading and searching the shelves for their next good book.  To me, that said volumes about this community. I moved into Heron Point when I was healthy, strong, and active, reflecting my profession in Exercise Science, with special interest in administration and health.  I am still healthy, strong, and active but I have developed macular degeneration, and my eyesight is greatly diminished.  I've learned that I don't need to slow down.  I came to Heron Point because it offered opportunities to be involved with people, and I'm as involved now as I always was.  Instead of playing golf and serving on the Resident Council, I have organized a number of low vision activities, such as groups for doing sculpture, reading aloud, knitting and weaving, and a program to welcome new residents to the apartments.  My life at Heron Point has been and is rewarding and a joy.                 Barbara Cangiano *Click on the X in the upper right corner of this window to return to our web site.*