Episode 5. Alice’s Story

Welcome to The Bold Way Home. Stories of aging with care and dignity. Growing older doesn't mean wanting less out of life. If anything, it means having the right support to keep living the way you want to live. But for a lot of people, the path there isn't clear. These stories are about that journey. They're about the moments where things change, the challenges people face, and what it looks like to find care that actually meets you where you are. Bold Age Pace is one way that can happen. It's a program that brings health care, support, and community together to help aging adults stay independent and at home. Through these stories, you'll hear what that really means in someone's life. This is Alice's story.

I am from Goose Creek, South Carolina. Born and raised. Lots of work. My chores was feeding the livestock, the animals, and gathering eggs and milking the cows. My parents, they sold the eggs to the local retailers. It was like a business. It was a large, very large farm. My father, he was a shipbuilder at the local shipyard. So he was always at work. But my mother, being a homemaker, she made it possible. She made sure that the work was done correctly and we had to go to school. When we got out of school, we had to work. A lot of work. When my father passed away, I was 34. So they went right together, not too far apart. And I just had to get a grip. I really had to think about me then. They weren't there anymore. I was like at her bedside when she died. And it really took a it took a lot out of me. That's when the depression set in. And I had to see a doctor due to the fact that I weren't as active, just weren't getting out enough and doing as much as I should do. Because after the farm life, after I became an adult, I had to venture out and create new horizons for myself. And it takes money to do that, to reinvent yourself. So I did not have much of that after the depression. My mother inspired me on a deathbed. She said, just do the best that you could do for yourself and meet people, meet someone, marry. I'm not married. I do not have any children. I was never married. So my sister said, why not an adult day program? Something in which you could connect to people, make friends, express yourself. And I said, well sure, why not? Bold Age Pace has inspired me to just broaden my horizons and express myself more openly to people and not be as shy as I used to be. I used to be shy. I really enjoy the atmosphere at Bold Age Pace and I look forward to it. I'm just one of those individuals that it's a must connecting to people. I'm a people person, so I just hope people will connect the way I did to Bold Age Pace, and I appreciate it greatly. There's nothing worse than being depressed with nothing to do. And when you have something to do, something to look forward to, it's exciting. It just motivates your life, makes it complete. That's important. Then to keep it all locked up inside, which there's no one to speak to. So I find it awesome. I'm not as depressed as I used to be. I have lots of friends, and I met a whole lot of people here at bold age pace. I appreciate that. It brings memories of my childhood. It all comes back. So I look forward to that. After I lost my mother, that really motivated me to do a lot of things. I said I can't just die because she had died. She wants me to create things, do things for myself. And that's what really inspired me. I realized that she wants me to have the best in life. She wants me to move on. She said, I want you to continue with a life and never give up. I never gave up. Never gave up. I wrote an autobiography of my childhood. And now I'm looking forward to writing a cookbook. I loved cooking, meal prepping, and creating recipes and all that good stuff. You've got to watch your calories when you're eating it. I would like to thank the entire team at Bold Age Pace, the entire staff, for making me feel exciting again and looking forward to good things in life. To living and making me feel great. I will refer Bold Age Pace to anyone. It's just a wonderful thing that it happened in my life.

Alice's story reminds us how deeply we all need connection, purpose, and something to look forward to. After losing both of her parents, Alice had to find a way to keep moving forward. She never gave up. Today she's connecting with others, writing, cooking, creating, and finding joy in the possibilities still ahead of her. At Bold Age Pace, care is more than medical appointments. It's about having people to talk to, a place where you belong, and support to feel excited about life again. If Alice's story made you think of someone who may be feeling isolated or could benefit from additional support, please share this episode with them. To learn more about Bold Age Pace and find a program near you, visit boldagepace.com. Because we're all growing older, but we can still live bold.