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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | DECEMBER 2022 11 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident To close out the year, December's word is "grateful," defined as feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful. As we age, I think it can be easy for us to get a bit cranky. Bones start to ache, we may have a chronic condition we need to manage, family and good friends may be far away or, sadly, passed away. Some days it's harder to just keep looking forward. But the older I get the more I realize how grateful I am to live where we live and to have the family and friends I have. Sure, my health isn't what it was in my 20s. On the other hand, thanks to cataract surgery, I can see better than I did for many, many years! I'm grateful for the amazing innovations of the last 50 or so years. They enable us to do so many things that our parents never dreamed of. Using Google, Facebook, FaceTime and Zoom, I've been able to keep up with family far away, see the new babies, laugh with buddies from my working days, and even locate friends I'd lost touch with years ago. These things keep me as busy as I want to be, and keep my mind engaged. Moving here, I have met more people I now call friends. Is it partly due to the shared age group most of us are in, similar experiences over the years, etc.? Or perhaps it's because we realize how precious friends are. A new SDV group I joined last year opened my mind even a bit more. The Book Club ladies (Gentlemen, don't you read as well?) have forced me (I mean that literally) to read books I would never dream of, most of which I've never even heard of. We read a book recently that contained the following quote: "It's a strange thing how you can spend years with some folks and never know them, yet, with others, you only need a handful of days to know them far beyond years." Those words truly resonated with me, and I read them over and over. I'm grateful that my SDV friends, whom I've only needed a handful of days to know are now added to my list of forever friends. A Ye Of "Ful" By John Wright, Resident Sprang from a prairie in a valley so wide. This inland island of comfort and pride. Split with a path by a dry creek's side. A meandering walk or a two-wheeled ride. Its Idlywild neighbors and mountains aside An offer from nature like lass to be bride. Soboba and Ramona from history's page, A wonderful spot to nurture old age. As all whom pass by with a smile and a wave, Lady in her room or man in his cave. Of Wednesday's Wine or Pickleball glee, Or a rousing battle of Hand, Foot and Knee. An upstairs run or an inside swim, A place to seek youth and start once again. To find new friends and toast the past, To start a new life that will last and last. The mountains so gleaming, The desert so alive, A fine place to spend life After age fifty-five. T HE ISLAND

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