Cutting the Cord

It's coming.  I knew it would, eventually, but I had years to go.  I thought.  College.  My first born is going to college.

Why is this traumatic?  I don't know.  It's a right of passage we all hope our children go through.  It's what we always expected when the children were born.  It just seemed so far away.  And now, he's a senior in high school in his last semester.  Apply for college...just the one, and hope it's a go.  Figure out how to pay for it.  Apply for scholarships.  Schedule freshman orientation.  Apply for financial aid, just in case.  Get a drivers license so Mom doesn't have to drive boy to college.  But amidst all that, there is the realization that my boy is growing up.  He's leaving me.  Well, he's not going that far away since he chose to go to school at UTSA and will be living at home, but he's growing away.

I don't know if I prepared him well enough to make decisions without me.  I don't know if he'll know how to get to class on time.  I don't know if he'll have time for me when he's a college man.  I don't know if he'll figure out that he doesn't need me anymore.  It's a loss.  There is some sort of weird grief I feel with this process.  I'm not even finding it easy to be happy for him, yet.  Despite he was accepted to the only school he wanted to attend and received automatic entry and Presidential Scholarship due to his class ranking and SAT scores...  I'll get there.  I know I will.  I'll work through the logistics and wade through the paperwork.

He'll start class this fall at my Alma Mater (Now and forever, we are Roadrunners!), and I'll breathe a sigh of relief.  After I shed a few tears.  It's a new day coming.  A new normal.  And I thank God every day that He blessed me with a handsome, smart, wonderfully weird and random, witty boy.  Then, I'll start the process all over again for my princess.  That'll happen.  Before I know it.

Dawn Ham

RE/MAX 

www.DawnSellsTexas.com

Job Obstacles of an Everyday REALTOR

Postal workers are not the only people who have to weather all types of obstacles in performing their jobs.  Living in South Texas, I run across many opportunities to put myself in uncomfortable and even awkward situations because a client wants to see a house or several. 

Job obstacle number one...Showing in the summer puts me out in the 100° plus heat quite often.  
Job obstacle number two...Showing land means I take my boots (jeans preferred except when it's super hot, but a necessary evil) or take my chances with fire ants, nettles, burs, and too many other perils to mention.  

Job obstacle number three...Of course on any given day, it could rain. I've sloshed through rivers running just outside my car door after pulling up to the curb in front of the subject house.  I've wrestled with my umbrella whilst getting in and out of my car, only to give up and just know I'm getting wet. It's much better if it's also cold! 

Snow?  Sleet?  Um, not so much down here, but in February, it can definitely be icy or freezing.  This is especially fun when showing vacant homes with no heat.  And speaking of vacant homes, you will not always have lights, so one of my best friends is my phone flashlight app.   

Just last night I showed a couple of houses after dark.  Our time changed recently, and when we "fell back," it made scheduling showings for humans who work until 5 or 6 PM especially tricky.  In the current market, waiting until the weekend means finding a slew of homes you want to see then finding out that at least half are under contract by Saturday morning showing time.  So, last night, I showed houses by flashlight.  Spotting the signs and addresses in the dark is part of the game.  After navigating my way to the front door, I can hold the flashlight between my teeth or have my lovely buyer hold it for me while I open the lockbox. Then, we cross our fingers that there is electricity to the home!  It's a nice bonus to be able to see at least the interior of the home without handheld light.  

Those are the basic obstacles, but there are dogs, both loose and barking.  There are animals in the homes that I have to block from running out the door when we come and go.  There are nosy neighbors, alarms I can't figure out, strange smells, home oddities, bugs, and doors/lockboxes/windows/cabinet malfunctions that make me look like a monkey to my buyers. Thank goodness I have a sense of humor! 

The next time you hear this famous slogan, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."-US Postal Service, perhaps you'll also think of me...your friendly, neighborhood REALTOR!  We work hard to make things happen.  Would I change it?  No way!

Dawn Ham
RE/MAX 360 
www.DawnSellsTexas.com