How many things would you do differently if you knew back then what you know now?

If I were starting over, any house I built or was buying would delight folks who need walkers or wheelchairs. When you are 80, you realize that there is only a blink of time between high school and the age that things stop working. Like all afflictions, you never know if or when it is going to happen. My wife, Marsha, has used a walker for perhaps 10 years and, day by day, being able to cook, dust and scrub floors becomes more difficult. Her great-aunt Florence was hopping about like a bird at 99. Marsha has an aunt over 90 who is often out sporting on the town.

A lucky majority may never need a walk-in or roll-in shower. But if I were young and know what I know now, my house would be a friend to folks who need walkers.

This means no thresholds on inside doors. The slightest hump or ripple in the floor is a mountain if you can’t lift your feet.

A garage connected to the house makes life easier. You could roll or slowly work your way out to it and not have to fight wind, snow or rain while getting in and out of your car. If you can run outside, jump in and slam the door, you do not think of these things. If you can’t walk and have a doctor’s appointment when it is pouring, you do.

Have your bedroom, with bathroom, on the first floor.

When you sit too much and can’t scamper about, your feet and legs can get cold, so radiant heat provides comfort without a draft. Remember that your circulation can change as you age, and not give you the warm hands and feet you had as a young kid of 60.

Put in twice as many electrical outlets as you think you’ll need. That ensures that in 50 years, you won’t need wires going to appliances anymore than we now need wires going to our phones – which was unthinkable 88 short years ago. Have handy light switches. No bare or waxed floors, but firm industrial laid carpet.

A friend tells of a 20-year-old daughter who needed a wheelchair after an accident. It wasn’t easy for her to function in their handicap-unfriendly home. They now think in terms of curbless showers, grab bars and wide doorways.

Dan says his house has been killing him since the second year they were in it. He’s now building the place he says they should have had 30 years ago.

Another friend built an island home with all of the above in mind. But when home prices soared, they couldn’t afford to live in it and had to downsize.

A woman who is slowing down tells me: “I think we should eliminate stairs from all house plans. One level. We purchased our first home only eight years ago – four levels, big mistake. It’s taken a toll on me. Definitely will need to downsize soon.”

Linn says: “There are so many things I wish had been built differently. A 30-something has no idea that in another 30 years the widths of the doorways, bottlenecks – in even an open-concept design – and stairs to get inside the house may prove to be a problem. I have no desire to live anywhere else. I love my quirky house in the middle of the woods.”

We love our old house at the edge of the woods. During the plague, we moved downstairs, put in another shower and tore up thresholds – just so we wouldn’t have to live somewhere else. I put up grab bars. Too many of them had to be taken down and moved a few inches one way or another. Sometimes it took me three or four tries. There are a lot of holes on all sides of them.

A skilled carpenter tore out the ramp I built and replaced it with a substantial one that supports Marsha’s electric scooter. I was lucky. A fussy wife could have requested a litter and four young, muscular bearers.

Is it worth my time to point out that new homes should accommodate the handicapped? If only one person will someday be spared unnecessary expense and grief by reading this, we can thank our editor for publishing it.

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