A Different Kind of Busy

When one is ready, the teacher will appear. At least that is the truth, according to some fortune cookie somewhere.

A few months ago, it became clear to me that real estate--at least the way it looks in my life now--is not a permanent path . Will I move to another brokerage? Another state? Teach? Work a corporate job? Sell commercial properties? Get involved in some committee somewhere? I don't know.

Will I still sell homes? Probably. I don't see it going away. And that's fine.

Recently, every person in my pipeline just dried up. I am out of leads--which is weird for the first time in 15 years not even to have any prospects in an e-mail drip. Even Dee and her Merry Band of Felons are out of the house buying business for the moment.

Two years ago, when our family business was going down hill, I was forced to take six months off. I went back to work with gusto. Here I am, a year later on an unscheduled sabbatical. Now, I know as I write this, someone could come to me tomorrow and want me to sell their home. That would be fine. In fact, someone I know is thinking about hiring me next month if Zillow doesn't work out. So, there is always opportunity. I welcome opportunity.

In the mean-time, I am chilling. It is actually the first time in 15 years my income hasn't been totally necessary. Having an accidental business that sucks one's savings and life force has that affect. There may not be any elaborate vacations in our future, but we aren't starving either.

I have a few projects I am working on. First, I am parenting Buckaroo in an attach parenting style I never expected he would need. I was once told teenagers are harder to parent. There is some truth in that. I am also mentoring Polly, who is maneuvering through young adulthood. She is not one for new and change but is handling it gracefully. And, I am loving this phase of my children's lives. I have time, as I am not distracted by urgent phone calls every ten minutes from some buyer who wants to know what happens if the seller decides not to leave the ceiling fan (it's in the contract). There are no text message from tenants either--which is even better.

In addition to mom-duties, I will be starting a project soon I hope to write about. Not teasing, just not ready to divulge. But, let's just say it came from the life experience of the last 15 years.

For now, I am discovering time for yoga, making home cooked meals and a clean house. These are nice benefits that come along with being a different kind of busy.