Monarch Landing Pioneer Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

"We felt like we fell into everything. Everything went as smooth as could be," said Jan Garland. Jan and her husband Bob were among the first residents to move into Monarch Landing when the community opened its doors exactly ten years ago.

The Garland's good luck started, when they first discovered Monarch Landing. They'd been living in Northbrook when they started investigating retirement communities and had just about decided on one in the northern suburbs. Then, they received a flyer about Monarch Landing in the mail, and decided to check it out on their way to visit Jan's mother in Geneva.

Still very early on in the construction process, what was to become Monarch Landing was still only empty land, without even a building to look at. That didn't deter the Garlands from falling in love with the community. "We just got a very good feeling right when we walked in the welcome center which was a temporary office," said Jan. "We literally, didn't even look any place after that."

"We kept coming down every week on our way to visit my mom. Bob would take pictures as the building started going up. We chose our apartment by blue print and literally didn't even see it until the day we first stepped through the doors to move in. We didn't see anything beforehand. We did it all on faith, and it was meant to be," said Jan.

The Garlands' second stroke of luck happened when their home sold, just as they were putting the For Sale sign up.

Consequently, the Garlands were able to make the move as soon as Monarch Landing opened. Jan fondly recalled move-in day. "We were waiting at the door to move in the very first day," she said. Two other couples and two individuals also moved in that day. "When we walked in everyone clapped and cheered. There was a Welcome Home sign and balloons."

Bob wrote his recollections of move-in day, three years later. "We were so eager, we couldn't wait to get in to see the inside of the building and the apartment we hoped to call 'home' for the rest of our lives. Moving here was something we wanted to do, not just for ourselves, but also for our children, so that they would never need to deal with concerns about their aging parents. Our children were glad for us; this was a place where they could know we were going to have every need met," Bob wrote.

Jan said her life at Monarch Landing has been great. This was especially important when Bob, her beloved husband of 56 years died. "I had unbelievable support. It was so different than it would have been if I'd still been living in our home. There was so much encouragement. Everyone here is a family. It's so much of a family," she said.

Jan is very active at Monarch Landing. She has been involved on the Resident Advisory Council (RAC), chairperson of the welcome committee, liaison for dining services, a member of the choir and more. "I keep pretty busy," she said. "There is definitely something here for everyone."

Officially celebrating its ten year anniversary next month, Monarch Landing now boasts more than 460 residents, and offers a complete continuum of care including independent living, assisted living memory support, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and respite.

Having been part of Monarch Landing from its origin, Jan said she feels that the residents have helped to shape the community, and continue to do so. "The thing I always stress is that things here are resident-run. If there's something you're interested in and there's not a club, you can start one. Early on, someone wanted a bell choir. We now have two bell choirs. That's amazing," she said. "We have a huge say in what goes on. It's just good and feels like family."

"We continue to grow in community, knowing and accepting each other's individuality. We often recall that while living in our former home, we knew only a few of our neighbors really well. Here, we have hundreds of good friends," wrote Bob. "This is not an old folks' home. It is a place where very active people are getting older with happy friends."

Monarch Landing is a Life Plan Community located on a scenic campus in Naperville, Illinois-named "one of America's best places to live and retire" by Modern Maturity, and "the best city for early retirement" by Kiplinger. Monarch Landing offers independent living, promoting a vibrant life style for active seniors. The Springs at Monarch Landing offers assisted living memory support, rehabilitation and skilled nursing services, thus providing complete continuing care for seniors. Monarch Landing is owned by Senior Care Development and managed by Life Care Services. For additional information visit www.WelcomeToMonarchLanding.com or www.TheSpringsatMonarchLanding.com.

SIDEBAR

After they'd been married for six years, Jan and Bob Garland were still without children. "I couldn't seem to get pregnant. The doctor said 'if you adopt, you'll probably get pregnant right away,'" Jan recalled. He was right. They adopted their first child Linda, and nine months later, their son Bruce was born. Eighteen months later, their third child Barbara was born.

While the children were growing up, Jan also babysat for three kids. Additionally, the couple fostered 73 children...primarily infants "So I had 79 kids go through my home," said Jan. When Linda was four or five, she became confused and very upset about how she understood fostering and adoption. "We thought maybe if we went into fostering, she'd understand that you take care of a child, love them and get them ready for their new home. The only thing we felt we could do was start fostering so that Linda would understand," Jan said. They started what would ultimately be more than two decades of providing foster care. "We'd get babies right from the hospital. The youngest were two days old; some of the others were a month or so. We'd always have the babies for from six months to a year. We had four sets of twins. We did this for 23 years, until about 20 years ago," said Jan.

"I'm always so touched to hear the stories of the residents living at Monarch Landing," said Nancy Arnold, director of marketing. "We know that they're fascinating people now, but to hear about their earlier lives always amazes me. Each and every one of our residents has inspirational experiences to share."