And The Thing She Didn’t Even Know She Needed

Choosing where to spend your next chapter is about more than floor plans and amenities. It means finding a place you call home because it’s worthy of the title. But how do you know you’ve made the right call? That can take time.

In Joan Trivett’s case, however, certainty arrived the moment she stepped into her apartment at The Covington.

Though the place wasn’t even finished, the light stopped her. Her longtime house in Laguna Beach, the one she was reluctantly leaving behind, had faced the ocean. Here, the afternoon light fell at the very same familiar angles. Even her furniture, refreshed after her husband’s passing, seemed to fit the new rooms as though she’d chosen each piece specifically for them. Standing there, she didn’t feel like a stranger in a strange place. She felt like she already belonged.

“It just looked like this is where I needed to be,” she says.

Here’s what led to that realization.

She didn’t have to leave her life behind

Joan loved Laguna Beach: her neighbors, her morning walks down to the water, the ocean breeze at her front door. She wasn’t eager to give any of it up.

At The Covington, she didn’t have to. The ECS community in Aliso Viejo sits about 20 minutes from her old neighborhood. Joan remained close to the people, places, and weather she already knew. Which meant she could continue living the life she loved.

The values matched hers

The mission behind the lifestyle was just as important as the perks. The Covington’s nonprofit status meant a lot to Joan. It was a signal that ECS priorities pointed toward something other than the bottom line.

“The focus is on the community, the people, and the quality of life that we have here,” she says.

She noticed something else, too: how long ECS team members had served in their roles. After a career spent around organizations, Joan knew that people who stick with a company do so for a reason.

“People stay a really long time,” she says. “That says a lot for an institution.”

There was strong word of mouth

Long before she moved in, Joan had connections with Covington residents. One of them was a woman Joan knew and respected from her church in Laguna Beach. Another couple she knew had supported her late husband’s work with people experiencing homelessness. Their presence mattered. Because Joan shared many of their same values, she trusted their judgment. And they had chosen to live here.

She also attended a resident roundtable, where she had the opportunity to ask honest questions only the people who live at The Covington could answer. But the real proof was in the hallways.

“You cannot go out into the hall and be passed by someone who doesn’t say hello,” she says. “Everybody looks you in the eye. Everybody takes time.” She pauses. “I call it a little bit of heaven.”

The setting fed her spirit

Joan is a spiritual director, drawn to a contemplative way of life, and the grounds spoke to that side of her. Shaded places to sit. A walking path winding through the community. And tucked behind a gate, a secret garden full of flowers, bamboo and a koi pond, a quiet place to find peace.

She had worried about missing out on the outdoors. Instead, she gained a whole new landscape to enjoy, right outside her door.

The support she didn’t know she wanted

One of the things Joan values most about her new home is something she’d always wanted but never knew she’d needed. Late one night, her knee gave out. For the first time in her life she reached over and called for assistance. Help arrived within minutes.

“It was like being rescued,” she says. “It was priceless.”

When she later needed knee surgery, the same quiet support carried her through from the hospital to The Covington Care Suites for recovery and then back to her own apartment.

Home at last

Joan spent almost three years searching for the right senior living community. She wasn’t in a rush, and she didn’t feel the need to settle. But somewhere between the light in her windows and the neighbors in the hall, her choice of senior living community became something more.

“I think The Covington is the best place in Southern California,” she says. “I’m more than happy to champion it.”