Family Happens ~ With or Without A Map...

February 2022 Challenge: "What's Your Story?" Post 1

Hosted by: Carol Williams  & Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker 

Preface

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them" - Henri Matisse

 I love to spend time in my garden. It is a form of meditation for me.  When I see flowers I am always drawn to them to get a whiff of the sweet fragrance.  I will stop and smell them before I move on.  Each fragrance triggers a memory and enjoying the scent of flowers reminds me of all the happy memories that life brings to each and every one of us.  

At this stage of my life, I have many happy memories to be thankful for. Some of those memories have been triggered by the pleasant aroma of flowers.

In my journey through my roadmap of time, I will be sharing how I got to where I am today.  Sometimes, it was with a roadmap.  However, my journey led me up and down many roads.  Some roads were unchartered with potholes we had to maneuver through.  That could be exciting and challenging.  My life has never been dull or boring and each road, with or without a map has made me who I am today. 

"Family Happens ~ With Or Without A Map"

The title of my book would be the title above.  It is all about family.  I grew up in a traditional family environment.  My mother was an executive secretary and met my dad at a party while he was attending law school at Creighton University in Omaha NE.  When they got married and started a family, my mom stayed home to raise that family. 

My dad was a salesman at heart.  He was in Credit and Collections and traveled to establish accounts. We moved from Omaha to Houston and then established a home in Southern California. More to come on this...

In the image above, I am next to my mom's mother, Nana, and my dad is holding his almost 1-year-old. He was a basketball player for Wichita State back in the '40s.  He watched a lot of basketball and was an avid golfer. Our vacations revolved around golf resorts. I got my sales ability through osmosis. 

I grew up, the oldest of five siblings with three brothers and one sister. To this day we are all still very close. I always felt I was a mid-westerner at heart. After all, I have roots there.  All my cousins still live in Omaha. 

But I had the opportunity to spend some of my formative years growing up in the Houston Texas area.  I can remember the devastation that Hurricane Carla brought with it. The floodwaters came up to the steps of our home and we were without power for some time. But what I remember most is the people.  People from the mid-west and Texas where I grew up, are warm and generous by nature.

Most of my teenage years and adult life were spent in Southern California. I was married in 1972 and became Sheri Sperry.  Little did I realize back then, that my name would benefit me in my sales career. It flows well and is easy to remember!

 I worked and raised my family, two rambunctious boys, in the Inland Empire until Rick and I decided to pick up roots and move to Sedona, Arizona. 

The image above is Ryan and Ricky enjoying some red rock off-road time on Broken Arrow Trail.  

How We Ended Up In Sedona

I stopped working back in 2000, so I became our "travel agent".  Rick got 7+ weeks of vacation so I surprised Rick with a vacation to Sedona AZ.  It was not on his radar.  He thought we were going to Santa Barbara and was not thrilled about going to Sedona... until we arrived at the Enchantment Resort.  

We had a casita with an outside deck and at night you could see every star in the sky.  We had been checking out retirement locations for a couple of years and when Rick saw the stars, he said, "find a REALTOR!"  Up until the pandemic, Enchantment was our favorite place to have lunch. The resort is only open to resort guests.  I am guessing they have a staffing shortage. 

Until I started my real estate business in Sedona, we did a lot of traveling. We went on numerous cruises with destinations to the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, and our two favorites, the Med and Tahiti. The last two were milestone events.  Tahiti was a celebration of our 55th birthdays and Rick's retirement and The Med was for our 35th anniversary.  We went hog-wild.

These were once-in-a-lifetime trips.  We were celebrating the next chapter of our lives. In Tahiti, We flew Business Class and had an Owners suite on the cruise, and stayed 3 days in an Over-the-water bungalow on Bora Bora (see featured image).

 The Med was a similar adventure with extra days in Rome and 4 days in a suite in Venice.  We had al fresco dining under the umbrellas above at least 3 out of the 4 days we were in Venice. 

What's On the Travel Agenda For the Future?

I want to go back to Italy and stay on the Amalfi and Positano coast.  I also want to go to Sicily.  I have relatives in Sicily. My cousins have stayed there. So that is a goal. 

2022 ~ Another Milestone Year... Only Bigger!

This year, Rick and I are celebrating our 70th birthday and 50 years of marriage. I still can't believe it!  We don't have any major trips planned.  With all the mandates and restrictions on travel etc., we are not up to it and there has been no lull in the Sedona real estate market.

Hopefully, we are going to do something for the family.  Right now, Disneyland is on the table for Tristan in December along with a celebration with my family who lives in CA.  

Rick and I have always been focused on our journey.  Sometimes we have had a road map and other times, not so much.  But with or without a map, it is all about our family and the journey together! 

Celebrating Valentine's Day and My Birthday in the same week! We were off to a nice breakfast at Shorebird's with Tristan and then to visit my lot that was closing soon. A REALTOR's work is never done! ;-)

Part 2 to follow... The Continuing Journey With or Without A Map

Link To Post 2 - Caffeine and Hard Rock