I wrote a post a few blogs back that made reference to my mom having cancer.  If you missed that blog, we're dealing with non-hodgkins lymphoma.  This is our second time around.

My sister called me today.  Her words were, "Mom creamed a mailbox!!!"My response..."GREAT!! It finally happened!"

Okay.  Now for the back story. 

When you have cancer, you usually have chemotherapy.  Along with chemotherapy comes what is called "chemo brain."  Think of it as Forrest Gump without the ability to remember anything short-term.  Somedays it's pretty funny.  Somedays it really stinks.

One thing that we have noticed that has not changed with my mom is her stubborn streak.  In fact, it's gotten a bit more stubborn.  Mom has been determined to shop and to drive on those few days when she feels well enough to climb off the couch and go.  Now, lest you think otherwise, this is NOT a good thing.  Think about what this means.  You take a woman who has short-term memory issues and give her a credit card.  Let that same woman (again, who isn't thinking clearly), drive herself to the mall and go on a shopping spree. 

(Don't argue over whether or not she should be driving please.  We're already having this disagreement in our family.  You have NO idea how goofy and difficult this is.  It should be simple - don't drive!  It isn't.  I'll blog about how we've tried to get dad to deal with this another time.)

Let's just say it's pretty amazing what can show up on a credit card statement without anybody remembering anything about it before hand!  My mom has enough new clothes to dress the entire US army and she has no idea where they came from or when she bought them. 

So you would think someone who is dealing with that kind of chemo brain situation wouldn't jump into a car and drive, right?

WRONG.  She did.  Then she creamed the mailbox.  And to make things worse, it was the NEIGHBOR'S mailbox!  Here's a few pics...

Notice the rock in the mailbox pic above.  You'll also see a spicket that she just barely missed in the pic to the left.

Thankfully, mom is okay.  She is shaken up, but she isn't hurt. 

We don't think the car is going to make it.  Bummer.

The lady who owned the mailbox told my dad that this was the third time her mailbox had been "removed" and the first time that anyone had ever owned up to it.

My sister and I will be going to see mom and dad next weekend to deliver to them our "decision" regarding the course of action to be followed from this point forward.

Now, what does this have to do with real estate?

Well, if you're like me (Boomer aged type person) you're either dealing with aging parents or your soon will be.  Trust me.  It's weird.  I thought raising teenagers was hard until mom and dad went and got older!

Some days, this situation with my mother impacts me emotionally and knocks me off my game in being a great real estate agent.  I hate that.  The worst thing is, there isn't really anything I can do about it either.  That bites.  Perhaps a counselor...I don't know.  That takes time and I don't really want to write a letter to my mom or dad about how I feel or talk to pillows which are supposed to be my parents.  I'd really rather sell houses, help people and be done with this!

There is a good side to this crummy situation.  It has made me realize I've got to have help to survive and thrive in this situation.  To that end I've hired an assistant as step number 1.  Step number 2 happened today.  I had my first "coaching" session.  That's good stuff!

The other way this situation has impacted my life in real estate is that it has threatened to steal my joy.  I hate that because I love seeing the humor in this crazy job we have as real estate professionals.  There is so much you can do wrong so easily and so little you need to do right in order to be great.  Finding that balance has tremendous potential to just make you laugh at the ridiculous nature of this demanding business.  And if you can learn to laugh then you'll have a whole lot more fun being a real estate professional.

One last application.  What we do isn't just about buying and selling houses.  It's about people's lives.  You never know what curveball life will throw at someone, including you.  So remember, those clients you are dealing with are people with issues and concerns and people they love and an uncertain future.  We need to be sure we remember that we get to be just a little part of their lives.  We ought to make that little part the very best experience for them that we possibly can.  They could find out tomorrow that they have cancer.

How about instead of working with clients, we just try to make a whole lot of new friends along the way!