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Blog archive

March 2025

About Senior Solutions
03/28/2025

Building a Bridge With Journey House, A Home Base for Former Foster Youth
03/28/2025

Come for the Knitting, Stay for the Conversation... and the Cookies
03/28/2025

Creating Safe and Smart Spaces with Home Technology
03/28/2025

Finding Joy in My Role on The Pasadena Village Board
03/28/2025

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
03/28/2025

Managing Anxiety
03/28/2025

Message from Our President: Keeping Pasadena Village Strong Together
03/28/2025

My Favorite Easter Gift
03/28/2025

The Hidden History of Black Women in WWII
03/28/2025

Urinary Tract Infection – Watch Out!
03/28/2025

Volunteer Coordinator and Blade-Runner
03/28/2025

Continuing Commitment to Combating Racism
03/26/2025

Status - March 20, 2025
03/20/2025

Goodbye and Keep Cold by Robert Frost
03/13/2025

What The Living Do by Marie Howe
03/13/2025

Racism is Not Genetic
03/11/2025

Bill Gould, The First
03/07/2025

THIS IS A CHAPTER, NOT MY WHOLE STORY
03/07/2025

Dramatic Flair: Villagers Share their Digital Art
03/03/2025

Empowering Senior LGBTQ+ Caregivers
03/03/2025

A Life Never Anticipated
03/02/2025

Eaton Fire Changes Life
03/02/2025

February 2025

Commemorating Black History Month 2025
02/28/2025

Transportation at the Pasadena Village
02/28/2025

A Look at Proposition 19
02/27/2025

Behind the Scenes: Understanding the Pasadena Village Board and Its Role
02/27/2025

Beyond and Within the Village: The Power of One
02/27/2025

Celebrating Black Voices
02/27/2025

Creatively Supporting Our Village Community
02/27/2025

Decluttering: More Than The Name Implies
02/27/2025

Hidden Gems of Forest Lawn Museum
02/27/2025

LA River Walk
02/27/2025

Message from the President
02/27/2025

Phoenix Rising
02/27/2025

1619 Conversations with West African Art
02/25/2025

The Party Line
02/24/2025

Bluebird by Charles Bukowski
02/17/2025

Dreams by Langston Hughes
02/17/2025

Haiku - Four by Fritzie
02/17/2025

Haikus - Nine by Virginia
02/17/2025

Wind and Fire
02/17/2025

Partnerships Amplify Relief Efforts
02/07/2025

Another Community Giving Back
02/05/2025

Diary of Disaster Response
02/05/2025

Eaton Fire: A Community United in Loss and Recovery
02/05/2025

Healing Powers of Creative Energy
02/05/2025

Living the Mission
02/05/2025

Message from the President: Honoring Black History Month
02/05/2025

Surviving and Thriving: Elder Health Considerations After the Fires
02/05/2025

Treasure Hunting in The Ashes
02/05/2025

Villager's Stories
02/05/2025

A Beginning of Healing
02/03/2025

Hectic Evacuation From Eaton Canyon Fire
02/02/2025

Hurricanes and Fires are Different Monsters
02/02/2025

January 2025

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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