Today is Saturday.
Saturday is laundry day in our house.
And I am the laundry king. It's kind of my thing.
So, as I was doing laundry duty this morning, I pulled the dryer screen out to scrape off the lint for the next load.
And that's when it hit me.
My mom used to do this.
When I was a kid growing up, she used to scrape the lint off the dryer screen when she would do the laundry.
But when she did it, I didn't help her.
I didn't have any interest in that stuff. I had other kid stuff to do. And then teen stuff to do. And then I moved out and had other stuff to do.
And all that time, mom did the laundry.
Now stay with me here because even though this seems kind of trivial, there is a point.
And here it is.
As I scraped that lint off the lint screen, I thought to myself, "I'd give anything to be doing this with mom right now."
See, we lost mom a couple of years ago.
And now, sometimes the silliest little things creep up make you regret stuff you didn't do...that you could of done.
And maybe should have done.
Stuff like helping mom with the laundry, not because the laundry needed to be done, but because you could have spent time together.
So, since I sell Real Estate, let me apply this to the buying and selling of Real Estate. And maybe we'll pull some life lessons out too.
First, if you're going to buy or sell a home, don't get hung up on some small something or other that will gum up the deal and blow it and make you regret that you were so hard headed later on down the road.
Do what you gotta do to get the deal done. Remember, buying and selling houses is about building memories with and for the ones you love. You won't always be around to do that with them. Keep that at the front of everything.
Second, when you're a buyer or a seller and you're in contract, remember that there are people on the other side of the deal. They may be unreasonable in what they are asking for or saying, but there is always a reason why they're asking for whatever is they're asking for. Sometimes we need to ask questions...lots of questions to understand the need behind the desire. Working towards a common goal of getting the deal done for everyone involved seems to be forgotten sometimes. And it never ceases to amaze me that if we can just get everyone together to talk about the situation, we almost always can figure out a good solution.
Finally, it may sound silly, but leave your home ready for the new home owners who are looking forward to moving in and building memories there. I can't tell you how many times I've found a home just filthy when the sellers whom I represented moved out. Cleaning the house you have called "home" with your kids is a memory making and character building opportunity. I can't tell you how many good memories I have with mom and dad that involved cars or projects or moving or...house cleaning. Build those memories while you can.
As I stood looking at that lint in my hand this morning, I thought to myself, "I'm doing what mom always did."
I hope I can live my life in ways that honor her and make her proud.
We should seek to do the same for our own parents and children.
Photos copyright Bob Haywood 2015
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