When Marlouise Chiviges lost her husband, she knew it was
time to move from her home in Florida to be closer to her daughters in
Virginia. But as someone who had maintained an active lifestyle, Marlouise
needed to find a place to live where she could maintain her independence while
also enjoying a wealth of social activities and support services.
Her daughter Deborah Calhoun started researching communities
where Marlouise wouldn’t be too far from her home in Spotsylvania, or her
sister’s home in Alexandria. One year ago, Marlouise moved into Jubilation by
Silver Companies. Jubilation is a community of 207 maintenance-free luxury
apartment homes for individuals 55 and over located in Fredericksburg’s
Celebrate Virginia development.
Members of the Jubilation community enjoy countless
resort-style amenities and activities.
With a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, heated indoor and outdoor saltwater
swimming pools, a spa, fitness center, a 4.5 acre park with
pickleball, four hobby clubhouses, an amphitheater, raised gardening beds and
more, not to mention an entertainment coordinator putting together social and
cultural activities to fit every interest, Jubilation makes it easy to stay
physically and socially active.
Staying active at any age
Marlouise says she particularly enjoys the live music after
dinner at the clubhouse—she has found a breakfast crew and another group of
friends with whom she regularly eats dinner. Her great-grandchildren made the
trip from Richmond recently to enjoy a Grandparents’ Day celebration at Jubilee
that included a Good Humor ice cream man riding up on a bicycle.
She has tried exercise classes, art classes and many other
activities since moving in. She played bocce ball for the first time at a
Jubilation tournament and participated in a putting contest.
“When I call her to arrange a time to come have dinner with
her, she has to look at her social calendar first,” her daughter Deborah says.
Deborah and her sister like that the activities at Jubilation
—with the exception of some off-site excursions that may require pre-purchased
tickets and carry a nominal transportation fee—are all included in the price of
membership.
“Mom was raised during the Great Depression, and we know she
watches her pennies—she wouldn’t take advantage of these activities if she had
to pay extra,” she said.
But Marlouise recently learned that her efforts to stay so
active at Jubilation have had a very tangible benefit on her health. She recently
had aortic valve replacement. After the surgery—which went well—her doctor told
her that her active lifestyle was the reason she was a candidate for the
surgery at her age.
“They don’t do this
surgery on a lot of older adults,” Deborah said. “You have to be in good shape,
and they have to know that you can do the rehab.”
Peace of mind for adult children
For Deborah and her sister, Jubilation has
eased the process of moving their mother from her longtime home with her
husband to a brand-new state, giving Marlouise many opportunities to make new
friends.
“We didn’t want her to be alone, and we didn’t
want her to rely solely on us to be her human connections,” she said.
Marlouise likes the fact that Jubilation has
garages where members can keep cars on-site. She also appreciates the proximity
to Wegman’s, and to Mary Washington Hospital.
Jubilation has an on-site medical
concierge in partnership with Mary Washington Healthcare who can help answer
healthcare questions for members.
Deborah likes the fact that whenever she comes
to visit, the staff at Jubilation have almost always seen her mom earlier that day
or have an idea of how she’s doing.
“I knew that Mom had babysat for another
resident’s dog the other day because they told me,” she said. On another visit,
the dining coordinator came out to tell Deborah her mom was in the workout room
riding the exercise bike.
“Everybody there is so caring, and I feel like
if anything happened, they’d let me know,” she said.
Come out to learn more
Jubilation by Silver Companies is hosting a
series of luncheons during the month of April to help families learn about the
community and the active and full lifestyle residents lead. Every Thursday in
April at 11:30 a.m., Lifestyle Lunch events will take place at the Jubilation
Clubhouse. To RSVP, call 540-573-2126. Visit Jubilation.com for more
information.
Jubilation Community Amenities
- 20,000-square-foot
clubhouse - 24-hour concierge
services - Gated community with
24-hour security - Indoor and outdoor
heated saltwater pools - Poolside cabana with grills
and fire pits - 4 1/2-acre park with
pickleball and bocce courts, raised gardening beds, four hubby clubhouses,
walking paths, and car wash - Amphitheater
- Dog park
- State-of-the-art fitness
center and yoga studio - Group workout classes
- Coffee bar and WiFi café
- Weeknight cocktail hours
- Demonstration kitchen
- Tapas restaurant
- Wine bar with bartender
- Daily breakfast included with membership fee
- Library and gaming room
- Card room
- On-site medical
concierge - Access to home care
(partnership with Visiting Angels) - Access to on-site
therapy services (partnership with Aegis) - On-site entertainment
director and daily resident events - Garage parking
- WiFi access
