I've seen other folks post about reaching 20K points and thought I'd never get here.  But yet, here I am!  It wasn't all that hard either.  It happened as a byproduct of everything else going on.  I read.  I comment.  I blog.  I sometimes upload pictures to Localism.  I've invited lots of folks I know to join this great community. (I've invited 80 or so and very few have accepted.  What's up with that?)

My journey in the Rain began 5 months ago but I had no idea what AR was about then.  So I just set up my profile and never came back.  A little over a month ago I was invited to a group here and stayed long enough to look around and see what it was really about.  I had no prior experience with blogging but had read about the benefits in several industry articles.

This time I decided to get involved.  I read a lot of blogs.  I caught sight of the vision!  I lost a lot of sleep.  I posted my first blog without knowing what the heck I was really doing.  I'm glad I didn't wait until I knew as I would still be waiting!  If we wait for the time to be perfect there's always an excuse as to why it isn't.  Just like with most other things in life we know will be good for us but we put off anyway.

Did I mention I lost a lot of sleep?  But I gained so much more!  I've made online friends, shared ideas, benefited from other's experiences and their sharing of same, this week I even received my first consumer inquiry I can attribute to the Rain.

I've experienced a lot in my short time here.  Here's just a sampling:

• You may just get a phone call from someone you don't know and welcome it!
• There's someone out there singing the praises of the unsung.  I'd call him my hero but then he'd really never let me live down that stalker label.
• We might not like the way something is presented but the content can be valuable.
• There's a certain joy to be found in the simple things in life and with a little bit of wit to boot.
• A blog doesn't have to get a lot of comments to get the job done.  Thanks for watching my back Renee!
• You can be incredibly handsome and still be loyal to your spouse (heck, they're still in love even!).  The truly Dynamic Duo!
• You can leave a trail of thoughtful, intelligent comments wherever you go that make it obvious you've got class.  I don't think I've ever commented on this gentleman's blog and that's a huge disservice to him.  I'm going over there now.
• You can be relatively new at this and still be doing it extraordinarily well.
• You can be a great mother, wife AND real estate agent! A classy lady.
• You can get in a heated debate with someone and still not lose your cool.  Another class act.  You've earned my respect.
• You can tell us what you really feel without fear of retaliation.  Her stuff is always tempered just right.

I could continue in this fashion but space prohibits that.  There are so many great people splashing in the Rain!  I'm abandoning the umbrella and soaking it all in.