“My wife and I adopted a philosophy of stay active, stay healthy. So, we take advantage of this beautiful weather and stay active in the community not only physically, but socially and mentally too,” says Dean McColgan.
Dean McColgan and his wife Linda moved back to Hawaii 5 years ago from Seattle to take care of his 97-year-old mother Lehua.
“Very active. Mom and I are down here 5 days a week in the mornings. Get here around 8 o’clock and spend a couple of hours in the water,” says McColgan.
“The ocean, swimming, exercising, Hawaiian music. Lots of music, I love music,” says Lehua McColgan.
“She walks about a mile in the water. So that’s staying active both physically and mentally, she’s meeting her friends here. She stays connected with people who have been sharing that active lifestyle in the water for many years,” says McColgan.
Dean and his wife Linda have also connected with the pickleball community. He’s a pickleball instructor and coaches JV baseball at Saint Louis.
“Pickleball for us has been a way for us to get incorporated and introduced us back into the islands as I moved back four years ago. Met some great people. It’s a highly social game. It can be challenging both physically and mentally, but we met some of our best friends through pickleball,” says McColgan.
Mom is also part of the pickleball community watching her son play.
“Yes, I like to watch whatever he does to see if he’s doing it right,” laughs Lehua.
“Our friends have made her feel so welcome. They’ve thrown her birthday parties and got her involved in our potlucks. They are a pretty important part,” says McColgan.
It was also important for McColgan to be here for mom.
“Mom gave a lot of her life to us, sacrificed a lot to raise me So it’s my time to give back. But it’s been a rich experience to be with her 24/7,” says McColgan.
“I’m glad he’s back and I hope he stays home. Nothing like Hawaii,” says Lehua.
