Hawaiian Celebration Sparks Sweet Memories for Sky Bridge at Town Center Resident
September 18, 2024
UPPER MARLBORO, MD — The halls of the Sky Bridge at Town Center rang with the beat of drums and the sounds of Hawaiian music during the community’s recent luau. According to a press release, traditional dancers performed a historical war dance and a hula for the seniors, while many residents dressed up and enjoyed a specially made meal from the chef at this Watermark community a half-hour’s drive east of The White House.
For resident Mattie Norwood the luau was a chance to dance and enjoy a wonderful day with her fellow residents, but it also sparked happy memories of her time living in Hawaii in the 1980s.
Norwood, who has lived at the Sky Bridge at Town Center since it opened in December 2022, called Hawaii home for four years while her husband worked at the military base on Oahu. There, she worked for the government while her two youngest sons attended and graduated high school.
At first, Norwood was worried that her family would have a hard time adjusting to the new setting in what many consider to be paradise, but she found her sons “became locals” rather quickly.
“We met so many kind families at the base and through my sons’ football games,” she said. “After the games we would all head to the gymnasium, filled with food and then the music, laughter, and camaraderie starts.”
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Norwood wound up loving her time in Hawaii and she is still in contact with many friends and family there. When she heard that the Sky Bridge at Town Center was hosting a Hawaii-themed celebration, she was excited and began reminiscing. The decorations for the luau reminded her of her youngest son’s graduation, who along with two of his close friends from Oahu had a ceremony incorporating native Hawaiian traditions, like traveling to the mountains to pick flowers for decoration.
“Unity and inclusion; that was my experience in Hawaii,” Norwood stated. “It made a big impression on me.”
“There was lots of laughter and fun,” Norwood said of the party, adding that she loves how, as more residents are moving into the Sky Bridge at Town Center, events like this celebration are happening regularly. “Even just seeing the others dressed up was fun!”
“I hope that the event makes people feel more comfortable and more at home here,” she added.
Based in Tucson, Arizona, Watermark Retirement Communities has been named one of the top 25 Best Workplaces for Aging Services in a national program conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute and published on Fortune.com. A privately held company with over 30 years of service, Watermark manages more than 60 retirement communities in 22 states coast to coast.
