Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sinful Senior Community

The other night my active senior community had a Valentine’s Dance. There are two advantages for me in attending a dance in my development. First, the DJ plays the slow, romantic music of my generation, which means my husband knows the dance steps. The second advantage to dances in my community is the DJ play vocals by singers like Johnny Mathis or the Platters all night. Those crooners didn’t scream and groan and call it music like too many of today’s musicians. At our dance, if people wanted to chat for a moment, they didn’t have to leave the room to hear each other. They could hear each other’s voices while others danced to Frank Sinatra’s songs.

During one of the dance breaks, our perky social director – who must have had her training for the job on a cruise ship - decided it was game time – just like on the cruise ship. The game – the Not So Newly Wed Game – was the same as the one played on the cruise ships we’ve gone on. Experience has taught Hubby and me that if the DJ or Social Director makes eye contact with us, we risk being picked – something neither of us loves. We immediately looked down when they circulated the room the other night for volunteers.

The DJ thought he was being funny and asked if there were any newlyweds in the group. He obviously didn’t think he would get a positive response from a crowd where the average age was around 68. One couple responded that they weren’t newlyweds, but would be within a few weeks. They were picked to participate in the game. Two other couples who made the mistake of smiling at the “cruise director” as she circulated the room were also selected. It wasn’t until everyone was on the stage that our social director realized only one of the three couples was actually married. Wow! Is my very nice development in reality a modern day Sin City? The many couples described as “Significant Others” (aka S-O’s) who reside here give new meaning to the word “active” in Active Adult Community!

There are many logical reasons the S.O.’s prefer their status, and I respect and understand their choice not to be hitched. For folks like Hubby and me who are still on marriage number one, the best part of having so many S.O.s for friends is “new lovers” surround us. Their behavior rekindles our own dormant romantic streaks. Normally Hubby would say no to attending a Valentine’s Dance. We went, and he forgot about his aches and pains and danced. I can’t remember the last time my husband did that willingly. He even remembered to buy me a Valentine’s card this year – before Valentine’s Day. I’m glad I live in a Sinful Senior Community. It makes life more fun than printable!

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