When Deone Roberts retired in 2023, the transition was harder than she expected.
After years of busy workdays filled with conversations, projects and occasional travel, retirement came all at once. She had hoped to continue working part time, but those plans changed. Suddenly, her days felt empty.
“I did not know what I was supposed to do,” Roberts said. “An unfilled day was the end.”
About the same time she retired, Roberts joined Villages OKC. Now, just a few years later, she says that decision changed her life.
“It sounds extreme, but to me, it is truth,” she said. “Villages OKC saved my life.”
Rather than staying home, Roberts decided to try as many Villages OKC activities as she could. She attended coffee gatherings, game nights, educational programs and other events, looking for connection.
What she found surprised her.
“I was struck with how everyone was smiling and friendly,” she said. “They smiled. They talked. They interacted.”
Those first experiences quickly turned into something deeper. Roberts found herself surrounded by people who welcomed her, shared their stories and encouraged one another through the changes that come with aging.
“When you get to know more about each person, the world comes alive again,” she said. “The tremendous connections I have made with different individuals are a treasure available at the touch of a phone button,” she said. “I feel a giant void filled when I have these connections that share, teach, empathize and laugh. The laughing is pure love.”
She believes those connections are more powerful than many people realize.
“It’s not easy to feel bad when you are smacked with so much good,” she said. “What a treasure.”
Today, Roberts enjoys women’s coffee gatherings, Android classes, Positive Aging programs, game nights and guest speakers. She says every activity offers “a little treasure.”
She especially appreciates the opportunity to keep learning.
For years, Roberts joked that she never received “the owner’s manual for being a human.” Through Villages OKC, she feels like she finally has one.
“As you age, there are so many questions about the choices in front of aging individuals,” she said. “That includes money, legal, medical, all the fun stuff you need to grasp to decide how you would like to proceed with your life.”
Beyond the educational programs, Roberts says the friendships have transformed her daily life. She now has people to spend time with, people she can call, and a community that has helped her become more outgoing, even with strangers.
For anyone struggling with the transition into retirement, she has simple advice.
“Test the waters for a year at least in Villages OKC to see if something suits your interests and know-how,” she said.
As she looks ahead, Roberts hopes to spend more time enjoying life’s simple pleasures, including what she calls “porch sittin'” — watching the sunrise with coffee, the sunset with a glass of wine and chatting with neighbors who pass by.
Most of all, she is grateful that retirement has become a season of connection rather than isolation.
“I like living,” she said, “not mildewing in a corner.”