Having finalized a sale today that has been on-again and off-again well over a month with buyers that I’ve been working with these past months I’m convinced that they’re happy now, so I’m happy. I’m definitely not complaining because these particular buyers are not the emotional type. They continued to weigh the pros and cons of the property and spent days and weeks between offer and counter offer simply weighing future positive as well as negative factors should they find themselves owning it. I appreciate people who take their time in considering all the possibilities before they spill ink on the final contract.
There have been times over the years when I’ve listened to the horror stories of people being pushed into a sale or purchase by either the salesperson, spouse, or friend who thought they were giving good advice at the time. I find myself being especially careful in visiting with people who are thinking about making a move out of a home where they’ve resided for a number of years. Moving out of a home where one has raised a family is not just a move, but rather a whole life transition. I was reminded of that today when speaking to a client whom I was very careful to make sure she was making the right decision before she listed her property some months ago. Today she said, “I knew I needed to sell my home but the hardest part now is discovering that the tables have been turned back on me. For years I was helping my children when needed and now I’m finding I’m the one who’s being helped and believe me, it’s an adjustment.” I simply said, “It is yet another transition of life that we all must accept.” When she was speaking about having to deal with getting rid of so many years of accumulation I interjected and said, “I’ll never forget reading somewhere that we spend most of our years in the accumulation mode and find later in life our time is spent getting rid of our own accumulation.” I told her as I’ve told many, “You’ll likely feel lighter after the excess “stuff” is gone.” She laughed and went back to her job of packing and sorting.
I’ve noticed these past days how the squirrels are busier than normal with their scampering about in that zig-zag fashion but only in a more high gear mode. They don’t seem to pay much attention to the vehicles on the streets or the pedestrians on the sidewalks. I walked to the back of a property to inspect a fence and a squirrel ran right along the top of the fence in front of me without a pause. I was over near East Park and noticed several deer standing under an oak tree eating acorns. They must have considered me invisible as well because they didn’t miss a beat with their munching and crunching. When I was young and impressionable I was out in the back yard of my Grandmother’s home and noticed several squirrels gathering walnuts from her yard. I went inside and asked her, “Why are those squirrels carrying away your nuts?” She answered, “So they can eat all winter.” I then asked, “How can they possibly store that many nuts to eat all winter?” She turned to me and smiled, “By carrying off one nut at a time.”
