It’s the little things

Complimentary hot soup in the wintertime, flat whites and hot chocolate on demand and a warm, cosy home with little maintenance are all moments to savour for Bupa residents Randall and Jeanette.

“It’s the little things,” says Randall. “They really spoil us here – it’s such a safe environment and we’re so well looked after.” Married for 65 years, the couple are headed upstairs to fill up a jug of homemade tomato soup compliments of the kitchen, before enjoying a warming winter lunch back at their apartment.

After recognising the maintenance of their family home in Te Atatu Peninsula had become too much for them, Randall and Jeanette made the decision to downsize and move to a retirement village.

“We’d lived in the same house for more than 60 years and the maintenance was getting beyond a joke,” says Randall. “The idea of not having to worry about that sort of thing was very appealing – it was time to think about something that gave us more time for ourselves.”

With West Auckland being familiar territory, the couple looked at several retirement villages in the area, as well as further afield on the North Shore. But there was something about Glenburn Retirement Village that “just felt right” says Randall. “Plus, being in New Lynn, it still felt like home.”

“It felt small and cosy, and we loved the fact that everything was undercover. We’d looked at other retirement villages where if you fancied going for coffee in the cafe and it was raining, you’d get soaked on your way there!” laughs Randall. He and Jeanette pop upstairs and meet friends for coffee each morning in the library area, which has an extensive bookshelf, cosy fireplace and coffee machine accessible day and night.

After moving to their new apartment at Glenburn in February this year, which they describe as ‘low maintenance, warm, and comfortable’, the couple say the things they’re enjoying most about village life are the companionship, friendliness and security.

As parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, family is a big part of Randall and Jeanette’s life, with their extended family often popping in for a visit, including their littlest family member two-year-old Remi.

With a large part of his career dedicated to the air force, both Randall & Jeanette are members of the RNZAFA (Royal New Zealand Air Force Association), and attend monthly meetings followed by lunch, as well as group outings across Auckland. They also enjoy shopping trips together to the local Northwest Shopping Centre – perhaps it can be said that couples who shop together, stay together!