Drinking the Wind

Life can be overwhelming.

And when you are a real estate agent, life can be beyond overwhelming. Where is the line between your life and your business? I have joked about working long hours, but the fact of the matter is that it is true. As a real estate agent, you are “on” more than you are “off” – Even if you are very strict about not answering the phone after a certain time, or making sure that you have family time, etc, it is hard NOT to at least think about your business more often than not when you are self employed… when you are a real estate agent.

There is always a contract, a lack of a contract, an issue, another agent, a client, an inspection, an investor, a lack of a client, a closing, a lack of a closing or something to think about, to worry about, to stress about, to laugh about, to cry about, to lose sleep over or to drink because of. Sometimes I feel like I am always running on all 6 cylinders at the top of my game all the time. Even when I am sleeping.

Today I went and hand delivered the last of my calendar magnets to my FARM area, my neighborhood. I have been delivering about 50-75 a day to a total of about 250 homes. I am not very big on cold-calling, nor am I a door-knocker – except for my neighborhood. I am the self-assigned neighborhood expert and I always have something interesting to share with my neighbors. This month is was the quarterly newsletter that had information on the recent home sales, the brand new high school that is being built to the immediate north of our neighborhood as well as news on the hot topic of the “neighbor with mold” issue. Oh, and the cool calendar magnet. Instead of my business card, I affixed a cool picture of the neighborhood park with the web address to the Greenhaven neighborhood
websites (which, if you check it out, you will recognize is a blog, but too many people don’t understand that term “blog” in my area).

I like going door-to-door in my neighborhood because it is a work-related activity that I can bring by kids along with. (Well, actually, walking around the neighborhood is too boring for my oldest one, unless I bribe him with fame and/or fortune, so this activity is generally done with my youngest one.) As we go door-to-door he and I have some of the BEST conversations. I learn so much from my kids.

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Today we were walking back from the last home – the final door, and we have made the final turn onto our street. We are walking against the wind, and MAN it’s windy out today. I look down and my little one is walking next to me with his mouth WIDE open.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m drinking the wind, Mom.” He says and goes back to opening his mouth.

“Wow! Doesn’t that make it hard to breathe?” I begin thinking about my life and how I feel like I am always walking against the wind with my mouth wide open.

“Mmm. No. Not really. See Mom?” as he points to his mouth. “All the wind just goes into my mouth and I choose when I want to drink it.” And he opens his mouth again to show me. “You try it, Mom!”

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Okay, Son. I will.