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Blog archive

November 2024

Event of Remembrance
11/22/2024

Phishing Scams: What You Need to Know
11/22/2024

Pupusas Family Style: Another Adventurous Dining Winner
11/22/2024

Celebrating the Holidays
11/21/2024

Genealogy Group: Discovering Our Pasts
11/21/2024

Nathan Wolford – From Tragedy to Ministry
11/21/2024

Pasadena Village Board of Directors: A Brief Overview
11/21/2024

President's Message
11/21/2024

The Day of the Dead (Dia de muertos)/ Mexican Culture/Community
11/21/2024

Vintage Celebration: Aging Like a Fine Wine
11/21/2024

Review of Racism in Our Local Past
11/20/2024

Creative Juices Flow in The Village
11/19/2024

Checking In by Ed Rinderle
11/15/2024

Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo
11/15/2024

I Shall Forget You Presently, My Dear (Sonnet IV) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
11/15/2024

Pictures From Brueghel by William Carlos Williams
11/15/2024

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Way More Than I Bargained For

By Karen Bagnard
Posted: 10/17/2020
Tags: karen bagnard

-    Karen Bagnard -

 It was nearly six years ago that I visited the Pasadena Village at their monthly Meet Me At The Village coffee event designed for newcomers, vintage members and those who are just curious.

In all honesty, I didn’t think the Village was for me.  I didn’t see myself as a “senior.”  I still felt young and energetic and I had a full life with friends, family and a small business to run.  My daughters were encouraging me to explore new avenues for my life and to get a “plan B” in place for the day my deteriorating eyesight would prevent me from driving.

Sue Kujawa, the Executive Director at that time, would send me emails about these monthly events.  I finally gave in and went to one.  I almost didn’t go because I was running late and then I had trouble finding the Pasadena Village office.  That made me even later.  When I finally found it, I was really late but decided to just go on in.

There was the aroma of fresh coffee, coffee cake and the chatter of about a dozen people.  I was one of three or four visitors that morning.  I felt welcomed and was asked to introduce myself and tell everyone how I learned of this event.  Everyone shared their interests and members shared how much the Village meant to them and how it enhanced their lives.  Two people in that room have since become my very good friends, Peter LeSourd and Dave Folz.

By the time I left that first coffee gathering, I knew I wanted to be a part of this vibrant community of seniors!  I called my daughter in Florida and told her I was going to join and how much fun I had at the coffee.  She and my son-in-law gave me my first year’s membership as a Christmas gift that year.  Since then, it has been the Christmas gift I give myself each year!

What I found at the Village is so much more than what I bargained for!  I have made rich friendships with people I might not otherwise ever have met… people who have lived lives and done things very different than me.  I’ve been enriched by their presence in my life.  I’ve benefited from the educational programs, social events and focused discussion groups covering foreign affairs, critical issues and social challenges facing our country.  I have read books and articles I might not otherwise have paid any attention to.  I’ve been inspired to write my memoirs.

We learn together; we laugh together; we cry together; but, most of all, we thrive together.  I had no idea, six years ago, how much I needed this!


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