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From the latest community news to our recent blog posts, we’ll keep you up to date on all the happenings at our active retirement community and more.

The Informer Newsletter
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December 21, 2020
Christmas 1968 – Another Period of Time with Unrest and a Pandemic

My husband and our four children (three sons age eight, ten and twelve, plus a little girl, age three) and I had moved into our new home in Miami. I was prepared to make this Christmas a very special one. 1968 had been a very sad year: the war in Viet Nam was escalating, Robert …

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December 20, 2020
A Bedtime Call from Santa

My older brother’s birthday is December 3rd. After his birthday we just knew that Christmas was soon to come. My dad was a baker, so he had to go to work at night during the holidays to get orders filled. We were left at home with our mom, who would be busy with laundry and …

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December 19, 2020
An Impromptu Musical Moment

This story is about my daughter, Bonnie Meyer, who happens to be musically inclined. When she was 17 years old, she was singing in the church choir and was called to do a special solo with her guitar. Right before the service started that evening, the minister had requested that she do the first verse …

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December 18, 2020
A Wooden Christmas Tree

In December of 1952, I was in the Army stationed at Clark Air Force Base, which was located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. All my fellow soldiers in our Quonset hut agreed that we should celebrate Christmas by having our own Christmas tree. We soon realized that what we think of as …

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December 17, 2020
Remembering Special Christmas Gifts

I have such fond memories of special Christmas gifts received over the years . . . When I was about four years old, I received a beautiful sturdily built doll about two feet tall. She was dressed in a lovely pink dress with a ruffled collar, pantaloons, and a hat decked out with a dainty …

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December 16, 2020
Our Special Christmas Tree

My father wanted to be an architect, but he had to drop out of college to help take care of his sick mother. He ended up running the family hardware store instead. My parents were married during the Depression, and I remember them collecting ideas for their “Dream House” for years as I was growing …

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December 15, 2020
Heaven Can Wait

Christmas evokes special, lifelong memories for me of my mom simply because it was her very favorite time of the year. We all called her Mimi, the name my son had given her. She could not wait to put up the holiday trees, decorated so beautifully—usually three plus one “Charlie Brown” tree outside on the …

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December 14, 2020
Letters From Santa

For many years on Christmas morning, my daughter, Madison, received a personalized letter from Santa. By the time she joined our family, my employer had been writing a Santa letter to his granddaughter for a couple of years. He had closely followed Madison’s adoption journey throughout 1998, and that year he surprised us both with …

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December 13, 2020
Just Call Me Mrs. Santa

After my husband had open-heart surgery, he decided not to shave so that he wouldn’t have to worry with blood thinners. Soon his beard had grown out fully, and he returned to work. His co-workers were simply thrilled to see his new beard and told him that he would make a perfect Santa Claus at …

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December 12, 2020
Christmas 2020

I was a child in the 40’s, during the heat of World War II, and grew up in a household with my parents, grandparents, a maiden aunt, and a younger brother. Our church’s Christmas festivities were a special highlight each year. A favorite memory is always the Christmas Pageant that my entire family attended together …

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December 11, 2020
The Christmas Birthday Cake

Christmas was a very special time when I was a child, and still is today. I was one of six children, and a few days before Christmas, we would go looking for the perfect tree. We had some store-bought ornaments and lights, but we liked to make special ornaments. We all helped decorate the tree, …

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December 10, 2020
Following the Bells

On December 22, 2019, my husband, Jimmy, and I had been at Cedarfield exactly four months. This was the day of the Christmas Party in the Fellowship Hall for residents and team members, and we had missed it due to being called out for an emergency. About 4:00 that afternoon, I heard the faintest sound …

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April 24, 2017
Introducing our new Executive Director

Upon the announcement of Nancy Brechtelsbauer’s retirement in December of 2016, the search for a new Cedarfield executive director was launched. After several months of searching, Virginia United Methodist Homes, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Shaw to the position starting April 2017. Shaw brings seventeen years of senior living experience to …

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May 27, 2016
Twenty Events To Celebrate Twenty Years

04/marked the beginning of a series of 20 events and activities in 20 weeks, which will conclude with a final big bash, Cheers to 20 Years, planned for August. See what has been going on at Cedarfield as we count down the 20 weeks!

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December 3, 2015
Giving Back to the Community

Driven 2 Destiny Outreach Center is a non-profit providing outreach and resources to people and families experiencing temporary set-backs due to unemployment, illness or other life-changing events. The center provides vocational training, parenting classes and more. They also offer Christmas Camps that give children a safe place to spend the day when school is closed …

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October 14, 2014
Cedarfield Special Care Center

Caring for a loved one with an advanced dementia disease (such as Alzheimer’s) can be overwhelming to families and friends. Statistically, a person with Alzheimer’s disease will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 or more years from the onset of symptoms. Eventually, 24-hour personal care may be required, whether in …

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April 8, 2016
Season of Celebration

Dining Services kicked off the celebration on April 8, presenting A Season of Celebration, serving residents a very special evening meal– tapas-style! The menu listed nine items – each brought to the tables one at a time. Everyone enjoyed this different, creative style of dining. Rave reviews by all confirmed it was a very successful …

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December 18, 2015
Cedarfield Cases of Love Suitcase Drive

How many pieces of luggage do YOU have in your garage or attic? Is there a Barbie or Spiderman backpack hidden in a closet, long forgotten by your child, never to be used again? How can these items be put to good use once more? It’s called Cases of Love. Through the month of November, …

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November 23, 2015
Congratulations Cedarfield Team – Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2015

It was a rainy November day for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this year, but Cedarfield residents, staff, family members and volunteers showed up strong to represent the community. The Cedarfield Team came in 2nd place for fundraising, topping off at $15,000. This total includes all resident contributions, staff fundraising, yard sale proceeds, purple sneaker …

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November 13, 2015
Cedarfield Veterans Honored

Over 85 of Cedarfield’s resident veterans were honored during the Veteran’s Day Celebration on November 11, 2015. The Henrico High School ROTC presented the colors before Cedarfield welcomed Capt. John F. Meier, first commanding officer of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), as the guest speaker. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s …

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October 15, 2015
Active Aging Week

Cedarfield residents recently celebrated “Active Aging Week,” by participating in new and creative forms of exercise. Zumba, line dance and a special belly dance class were all big hits! Wellness and Leisure hosted a friendly competition during the week to encourage the community to engage in different classes and activities.

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July 29, 2015
Second Childhood

Cedarfield’s very own resident, Martha Newell, is living her second childhood at 93 years old. With the help of her American Girl Doll, Samantha, she has created over 150 outfits for her great-granddaughters’ dolls. Read her extraordinary story from the Richmond Times Dispatch here.

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July 8, 2015
Person-Centered Care: Exactly What is It?

A lot of talk is going around these days about person-centered care. Its not a new concept, but one that has been slow to take off, especially in nursing homes. Person-centered care focuses on the individual needs and desires of each resident, rather than institutional processes designed after hospital models, with strict schedules and no …

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June 17, 2015
From Cedarfield Dietician

As the temperatures rise, so does your body’s need for water! To keep it functioning normally and to prevent dehydration, you body needs an ongoing water supply throughout the day – especially in extreme temperatures like we have experienced lately. -Drink up. If you’re thirsty, your body has already started to become dehydrated. Drink water …

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April 7, 2015
Alzheimer’s Association Reasons to Hope Breakfast – an Awe-inspiring Experience

I had the opportunity to get out of bed very early on a dark, rainy March morning to spend one hour of my day as a table host at the annual Reasons to Hope Breakfast, a fundraising event of the Greater Richmond Chapter Alzheimer’s Association. Each year I attend this event coming away affected in …

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April 1, 2015
Little Penguin Jumpers

The Cedarfield Knitter Group is currently participating in Nature Abounds™ Knitters for Nature’s Critters™ program, by knitting jumpers for Little Penguins (also known as Little Blue or Blue Penguins). The Little Penguins are the first animal recipient through this program, in which the goals are: To help the Little Blue Penguins themselves in their time …

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March 26, 2015
Pathways to Wellness

What is “wellness?” A healthy lifestyle leaves a person fit, energetic and at reduced risk for disease. Good nutrition, daily exercise and adequate sleep are essentials for good health. Managing stress in positive ways, keeping your mind active – these components define wellness, but there are more! Cedarfield residents have been working with staff, offering …

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June 30, 2014
Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Health Services residents recently took a trip down the yellow brick road. Recreation Therapy staff dressed as these memorable characters for a Wizard of Oz Party. Residents enjoyed music, refreshments and the opportunity to have their photo taken.

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