When Jody McLean saw news reports about the spectacular Super Moon in June, she called good friend Sybil Pendergrass to drive with her to LSUS so they would have open sky for a better view. It didn’t matter that it was after 9 at night and they were both in their jammies, although Pendergrass is quick to point out she had a “duster” on over her gown. “I wouldn’t have ever gone outside in just my pajamas,” she laughs.
Such spontaneity is characteristic of the ladies, who along with Kay Martin, are known at The Oaks of Louisiana as The Three Musketeers. All three are residents of Garden Apartments at The Oaks and share a joie de vivre that is the hallmark of this very special friendship.
“We all share the same interests and values,” Martin says. “We just clicked.”
In fact, these friends could be case studies on the benefits of friendship in older adults.
“Friends are as important as families,” says Dr. David Henry, of Family Medical and Geriatric Center. “Many studies have shown the benefits of friendship on positive social, emotional and physical well-being." “When one gets started counting all the loss at this time of life, senior adults can be overwhelmed by the magnitude,” Dr. Henry says. “Kids have grown up and moved away. There is a loss of productivity, which is sometimes connected to self-worth. There is a loss of health, of independence.
Often people become withdrawn, they get depressed and the loss becomes profound.”
Henry says communities like The Oaks of Louisiana help older adults remain socially engaged and maintain interpersonal relationships, which promotes good physical and emotional health and cognitive function.
There are daily opportunities to meet, learn from and engage in activities and programs with stimulating and like-minded people. “Everything is there and residents can find it. It is easier to build and maintain relationships there than if someone is at home alone,” Dr. Henry says.
Jody McLean, a widow, agrees. When she came to The Oaks, she came with jars of jelly. “I went to meet all my neighbors and took them some jelly,” she remembers fondly. “My children say I would talk to a post, but I think it is absolutely important to make new friends and build those relationships.”
She believes that people who value their friendships have happier lives. “They are our support system. They give advice on decisions and are companions in life who share our interests and can be confided in,” she says.
As Dr. Henry says: In the later stages of life, people face the loss of family and friends, but they do not lose the desire or the need for them.
Sybil Pendergrass (from left), Jody McLean and Kay Martin have forged a friendship through shared values and love of life.
