Seniors For Living

Exchanging a sweet kiss. Holding hands. Renewing vows. This is what 18 senior couples in a New Jersey community for veterans did yesterday, in front of a crowded auditorium of family, friends, staff and fellow residents.

According to this DailyJournal.com article which covered the special event, the couples celebrated a grand total of 1,045 years of marriage.

In addition to wedding cakes for each couple, desserts for guests, bouquets and boutonnieres, floral arrangements and champagne, grandchildren and great-grandchildren participated, walking down the auditorium aisle as flower girls and ring bearers. The home’s current chaplain performed the ceremony, assisted by the chaplain who served there prior to his retirement.

This wonderful event was a result of a collaboration between Second Wind Dreams (an organization much like the Make-A-Wish Foundation for children), and the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Though making a senior care decision can be difficult for couples when the two are not in agreement about what comes next (read more about these challenges here), stories like this one show that enjoying life — and marriage — is possible, even in a senior living community.

Your turn: What special events have you enjoyed with a family member or friend residing at a senior living community?