The morning hours went pretty fast with several extended appointments I had which turned out to be successful. The temperatures climbed faster than I would’ve liked, but at least the wind from the south kept the humidity down. While looking at the skies early this morning, I was afraid we were going to get another un-wanted storm, but it must’ve moved north of us.
My public open house at 741 – 11th St. NE had a good turn-out with potential buyers. Everyone seemed to like its floor plan, the condition, and certainly its location. If there are any young families with children who like to spend time at the pool, they couldn’t have it better than being two blocks from its entrance. While standing out on the sidewalk of that home, I could clearly see it down the street.
When I was young, I was very much interested in swimming. I took those short summer lessons every year until I was considered a junior lifesaver. Several of my siblings were also interested in swimming, so we oft times made trips to the pool together. I was involved in competition for several years until my work at home became compromised, along with my not being much fond of the whole competition thing. More than once when winning a given style, I’d find a few of the challengers terribly heart-broken because they lost. Sometimes they would even be crying which made me sad. Looking back on it, I think more times those swimmers were being pushed all the more to win by their parents, which created all the more pressure on those kids to be first, and when they weren’t, they’d feel as though they’d not only failed in their competitions, but also the wishes of their parents.
Over the years I’ve noticed how mothers and fathers, and sometimes both, place too much emphasis on their children to win in every sport they’re involved in to where those kids must feel as though they’re under pressure from all sides. It’s too bad more parents don’t leave their children to decide what sports or academics they’d rather be involved in, instead of pressuring them into arenas that really don’t fit. And don’t think school children in these times aren’t all the more affected by the likes and dis-likes of their schoolmates, because it’s all the more alive and well since I was young.
Just yesterday a client of mine who is a parent of a bullied child, again mentioned how even at the public pool, his son is being taunted by ex-classmates. Since he’d mentioned before about their problem with the school system, I again said, “Every time I hear of a youngster getting bullied, I become internally furious.” Nearly no one can imagine what goes on in the minds of those poor souls. It’s bad enough to be a taunted adult, but with children it’s ten times worse because it’s affecting their future growth and development. It’s been said for generations how sometimes, children can be the cruelest.
I had a big let down this afternoon just as I was preparing to meet buyers at a home they’d looked at before. A text from one of the buyers came to me saying something like, “We’ve found another house we’re going to make an offer on, so we’re canceling our appointment with you.” What made this situation all that much worse, is that the buyers had been speaking directly with my sellers to the point where they’d already come to an agreement on price. The only thing left to do was for them to see it again, and then come to my office so to get the contract, along with accompanying documents signed.
That phone call to my sellers was one of the hardest I’ve had to make because I knew they’d be very upset over this sudden change in direction. I’m even now wondering if those buyers have any idea what they’ve done to my sellers. Buying and selling homes is stressful enough without this see-sawing back and forth which created an emotional roller-coaster for my sellers. The most upsetting, is that the sellers are the absolute nicest people.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Humanity is like a tapestry. We’re all intricately interwoven.
