Getting straight to it..it wasn't my phone that was off; but my business partner and co-lister went on a  real vacation and left me with only a voice message forwarding all calls and...you guessed it, an email message notifying the whole world to "contact Pam if you have an urgent real estate matter"!! Excuse me, but to a client, aren't all real estate matters urgent!? 

(Just to be fair I did take a little tiny bit of time off over the summer, where I slaved strapped to the computer every day for nearly 6 hrs...BUT, that was then and this is now!)

If you truly want to see just how important you are, or are not, turn off your phone and email for two or three weeks and see what you have to sift through when you break the silence!  

Most of the "emergencies" are over; whether they are no longer existing or were solved, you will have alot of hang ups on your recorder and those clients or friends that felt the message was not intended for them will continually email you thinking you are actually kidding and messages will be screened for your message requesting a quick short call just to "touch base".  Don't worry, if you are a part of a strong team...you will not have lost any business! 

Obviously I lived to write about it and even sat in my living room with my partner and her husband last night and listened to them both speak purely of heavenly bliss; massages at a spa in the vineyards, shopping (this is a biggee as we live on an island and shopping is limited) and get this...SLEEPING until way after 5:00 am!! They actually told me they laid around reading books and the paper for two whole days; what a vacation.  Bliss.

While we painfully tried not to talk about real estate, or at least I did, not to burst her bubble as she seemed so peaceful, almost serene and with that "I'm going to stay this way forever" glow.  We do have a meeting to catch up and I see it as opportunity to hand over half all of the Short Sales!  That oughta turn that glow into sweat:).

And by the way...our team concept and partnership is a wonderful thing; without it we would never have taken those important and precious days, weeks, or however long you need, to soothe the soul and unclutter the mind...I can't wait for Christmas...my turn!