There is a theory that everyone in the world is connected by six degrees of separation.
At Oak Trace senior living community in Downers Grove, Illinois, Paula and Dan Cozzo have their own theory.
Two degrees seems more accurate.
After decades of living in Downers Grove, including Dan’s career at South High School and Paula’s nearly 20 years at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, the couple arrived at Oak Trace with more connections than they expected. Former neighbors had moved there. Both knew former colleagues who were residents. Friends knew friends.
“We could all be third cousins,” Dan said. “We feel that close to so many people. It feels like two degrees of separation.”
The connections were an unexpected bonus when they decided to make the move.
Paula and Dan had begun receiving information and invitations from area senior living communities. So had some of their neighbors, who were also good friends. Several of them started attending events, sometimes together, and gradually became more familiar with the communities they were considering. They were looking specifically for a Life Plan Community, also known as a Life Care Community or CCRC, with independent living and access to higher levels of care on the same campus.
Then, in July, one of their neighboring couples told them they had put a deposit on a cottage at Oak Trace.
That prompted Paula and Dan to take a closer look.
They toured Oak Trace, and one apartment stood out.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘If we were going to do this, this would be the apartment. We could make this work,’” Dan said.
They put down a deposit, listed their home and sold it in two days.
“I guess we are going to do this,” they said to each other.
Seven weeks later, they were living at Oak Trace.
And the connections did not stop there.
Within the past year, two of the couples and another friend from their former neighborhood also moved to Oak Trace. Paula and Dan had not set out to create their own little neighborhood within the community, but that is essentially what happened.
“When we originally started looking, we didn’t really think we’d all end up together,” Dan said.
Maybe It Was the Ribs
Two of the familiar faces already living at Oak Trace were Robin and Craig Zeck. Craig and Dan had worked together at South High School. Craig, in fact, had hired Dan and made a lasting impression on his career.
“He had an amazing leadership style and focused on developing future leaders,” Dan said.
After the Zecks moved to Oak Trace, they invited Paula and Dan to dinner.
There were ribs.
Apparently, very good ribs.
“The ribs were unbelievable,” Paula said.
Robin started calling them to invite them for rib night, and dinner became another way for Paula and Dan to experience Oak Trace before they lived there.
The ribs, naturally, were only part of the attraction.
“The people are what make the difference, residents and team members,” Dan said. “Everyone makes you feel welcome.”
Paula quickly noticed how much residents seemed to have in common.
“There’s commonality and great interest in building friendships,” she said.
A New Phase, Not a Smaller Life
For Paula and Dan, a new phase has meant a full life, not a smaller one.
Paula and Dan volunteer in the health center, helping residents in wheelchairs get to programs and events. Dan works with the finance, building and grounds, recycling and current events committees. Paula enjoys fitness activities, walking the grounds, mahjong and pinochle.
“We like to get involved, we like to give back and we’re very social,” Paula said.
Dan has been impressed by what he calls the “collective intelligence” of the residents. At one of the first presentations they attended, the thoughtful questions and comments from the audience surprised him.
“If someone has a question about anything, there’s someone here who can answer it,” he said. “It always comes back to the amazing people who live here.”
Their new apartment is about one third the size of their former home, but that was intentional.
“We determined that this is a new phase in our lives,” Paula said. “We have a bedroom, a den/TV room, and a laundry room. It’s plenty for us.”
They did not move to Oak Trace to spend more time at home.
They moved to be out in the community.
Even their smaller dining space has not limited entertaining. Oak Trace has a private dining room residents can use, and the couple hosted their entire family for Thanksgiving shortly after moving in.
The Next Adventure
Planning for the future was an important part of their decision to move.
“We wanted to take our future care off their plate,” Dan said, referring to their children.
The couple knew they wanted to make a move before they needed significant assistance, giving them the opportunity to enjoy the community while they were healthy and active.
Paula likes a saying that captures the philosophy they have embraced.
“It’s better to move here five years too early than five minutes too late.”
Dan recalled that he had once mentioned the idea of senior living to his older brother, who said he was not ready to “give up everything.”
For Paula and Dan, that has never been how they viewed the move.
“We have not, for a minute, thought of this as giving up,” Dan said. “This is a new adventure. It’s the next chapter. We look at it like we’re starting something new and exciting, and that’s exactly what it’s been.”
And perhaps that is why Oak Trace has felt so natural.
They did not leave their connections behind. They brought some with them, discovered others and continue to make new ones.
Six degrees of separation may be the theory.
At Oak Trace, Paula and Dan think two is closer to the truth.
