Ups and Downs

Today....not so good.  Was all dressed up, on my way to a fun luncheon with my fellow "classmates", got a flat tire in downtown Marietta and spent my "fun" time on the side of the road, waiting for a friend to come to my rescue.  I am, of course, thankful for all the obvious blessings in this story; just bummed to miss the party.

A couple of weeks ago wasn't much fun either.  My back went out the same day one of our huge trees fell on the neighbor's house.  I spent a week in bed, recovering from my back injury with lots of reading material in the form of written threats from their insurance company.  Seems they are expecting us to pay $10K to date.  There were many other unpleasant things that went on that particular week from hell, but one of the perks of getting older is the combination of things that happen to your mind.  First, you don't remember lots of things and the rest, you just don't give a flip.  Both are beneficial.

In the midst of contemplating the real reason for life and if its all worth it, came the most fabulous surprise - my 60th birthday party.  I can honestly say, it meant more to me than anyone will ever know.  I know the untold number of hours that went in to planning and preparing for the perfect party and all the effort it took for all my friends to come.  It was such an act of Love, through and through.  It also was an absolute blast.  

Its moments like this that make days like this fade in the distance.  I will have that night to reflect on for the rest of my life.  I'm not so sure you guys won't be sorry when in 2020 I say in a squeeky, Nonnie voice (for the gazillionth time)...."You remember my birthday party back in, let's see, was that May, 2007?...blah, blah, blah....Tell me again, honey, who was there?". 

But, before I forget, let me say, I have the very best kids on earth!

Reality Check

First Closing

I’m heading to my first ever closing today and there are so many things that are going to be memorable about the whole experience.  First, if you could feel what is going on inside my body, you’d rush me to the hospital.  My head has hurt for 24 hours, I feel like I am going to throw up, and my chest hurts so bad that I’m beyond heart attack alert.  Last night it was so bad I finally just took a sleeping pill so I could propel myself into the morning as quickly as possible.  That way I would wake up and have to face the music - thus forcing an end to the internal misery.

But, on the flip side….This whole process could not have been any more pleasant.  Working with Lauren was easy, fun and really enjoyable.  Although I’m not too much of a seasoned agent, I’ve had a couple of clients that have had me jump through enough hoops that I don’t get but half this sick when I’m working with a new client for the first time or negotiating the contract.  Plus, showing houses is like holding your own private House Hunters episode.  Today is different.  I step through another threshold, a right of passage, so to speak; the dreaded first time experience.

I spent 6 hours last night putting out fires so I’m not really feeling at the top of my game this morning. But, I will try to make my hair look good, pick out the right outfit (don’t have a suit, of course – but that’s a scary thought anyway), gather my stacks of papers that are always done in triplicate, and head out into the unknown.

Oh, brother, where’s my broker and close friend, Sue, today.  Oh, yeah, at the beach.  Bummer.  Timing is everything….or not.

So, I've decided to top off my “amateur hour” by bringing my senior broker to closing to watch my back  She’s very supportive but tends to stir stuff up.  She’s already made a call to complain loudly about where we are meeting for the closing – not today, Patty, please.  Though not too strong in people skills, she’s brilliant on contracts and legalities and is being very positive and nice to my face.  My alternative was to go alone, chancing something would go wrong with me sitting at the head of the table trying to pull off a Jack Bauer secret phone call to my off-site support team.  Probably not.  So, I opted to swallow my pride and bring a pro.  Too many lives at stake here….

So, how did it go?  Great...(except for the 3 yr old that came with the sellers.  He monopolized the whole closing by running around and throwing cell phones and keys at the glass wall in the conference room).  But, Patty came in handy when she told the parents it wasn't going to be a cheap fix when they had to pay for those big glass doors he was body slamming.  Let me ask, does it make sense to bring a spoiled 3 yr old to a closing where people were signing their lives away?  Not to the other 5 adults in the room and the other 10 people in the surrounding offices.  Parenting today......

Bottom line, though - Guess who no one noticed?  Me!  And for that, I am grateful.

Congratulations Lauren!  This was a big day for you and I just wanted it to be perfect!

I love my job.

Drawing a blank

I decided to blog since I was having such a good time reading everything the rest of my family has written.  Instead of things coming to my brain in rapid succession and straight out my mouth, (like they do every night when we get in bed ~ ask Chris how Randy feels about this!), I am stuck, looking at a blank screen.  I'm too cheap to pay for "premium" so I've been reading the ads.  This bar is priceless.......'how to help your anorexic child' (not too much of that in my family) and 'wanna be a surrogate mother'.......not much of a possiblility for any volunteers there either.  Not getting any material here.

So, for the moment, just read my profile and see if you could have guessed my answers.  I hate to rub it in, but I can see some of me in L J & E....and of course, A, since she hasn't written anything either.

Later.....