We’ve been back in Cambridge for eighteen months now and our failed nine- month experiment with retirement-home-living in Washington, DC rarely occupies my thoughts except when friends considering their retirement living options ask me about our experience.  I tell them that it didn’t work out for us, but for many people, it does.

It’s hard to admit that you’ve made a mistake, and it took me a while to admit that one, especially because the one thing we loved (and moved for) was being near our grandchildren.  I hoped that I would adjust, that it was just a matter of time.   But I didn’t.

I was reminded of that yesterday when I heard from a friend in our Washington retirement home that a couple who had moved there from New York City left after only eight days.  They found that Washington was much more difficult to negotiate, much less accessible than they had anticipated.  Luckily, they had kept their New York City apartment so that unlike us, they had place to go.  Our friend thought we might find that news “amusing.”

We did, but we have moved on.