A Good Place

CHARLOTTE KINDLER and her children know she is in a good place now, as a resident of Masonic Village at Dallas and with an array of hobbies to keep her fulfilled and engaged. To arrive at this “good place” though, she had to deal with some of life’s hardest moments.

Charlotte and her husband raised five children together and were looking forward to a blissful retirement, when at age 52, her husband died of a massive heart attack.

“Grieving is the most difficult, lonely process I ever experienced,” Charlotte recalls, “but one must go through it when we lose a loved one. With the support of my children, other family members, good friends and faith, I slowly survived.”

A close friend suggested she take an art course at a local community college. Having nothing to lose, she enrolled.

“A whole new world opened up for me,” she said. “The course was not only therapeutic for my grief, but it made me discover a talent I didn’t know I had. I was addicted. I couldn’t stop painting. If I couldn’t sleep at night, I would paint into the wee hours of the morning.”

Charlotte eventually entered some pieces in art shows, winning awards and selling some of her work. She also used her talents to create silk flower arrangements for a local florist.

She rekindled her interest in the ukulele, too. When she was in second grade, her father surprised her with an Arthur Godfrey ukulele. She eventually learned the chords herself and spent hours playing songs. She lost interest over time, but after her husband’s passing, she ordered a wooden ukulele online and began playing to pass the time.

“I’m really not that good, but it’s very relaxing sitting on my porch and strumming away,” Charlotte said.

Charlotte faced another hurdle in her life when she was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, which forced her to retire from her florist job. After 40 years of residing in the same home, taking care of a large property had become increasingly difficult. Her brother-in-law and his wife lived at Masonic Village at Dallas and had nothing but positive things to say about life there. When Charlotte inquired about availability, she learned there was an apartment open right across the hall from her brother-inlaw and moved in two years ago.

“It’s a lovely environment without the hassle of home maintenance,” she said. “All my neighbors are very friendly, and there are lots of activities available. Staff are doing a fabulous job keeping us protected from the [COVID-19] virus, seeing that we can order meals from our clubhouse and giving daily updates.”

Charlotte was able to use her floral design skills to decorate the apartment building and Irem Clubhouse lobby. Her apartment has plenty of space for her easel, and with COVID-19 restricting outside activities, almost every day she uses watercolors to paint landscapes, seascapes and birds. Quarantining in her apartment also means lots of video chats with her three sons, two daughters and five grandchildren.

In yet one more hurdle, Charlotte was diagnosed with kidney failure last summer. She undergoes 4-hour dialysis treatments three days a week, as what she calls her “new part-time job.”

“I thank God I made the move to Masonic Village,” she said. “Living here makes these dialysis sessions easier to handle. Not only am I in a secure, maintenance-free building, but I am surrounded by caring, supportive neighbors. All my children are totally happy that I found a residence that suits my needs. I only wish my husband could have lived to be here with me.”