Influence.... wedding.. fortune cookies... arguements... kids...

Somewhere in these words I have a blog... a thought thread that is only slightly tangled.. maybe I need to read more -- so my words don't get locked up the way they are.  Turns out too much tv really CAN rot your brain.

We weren't thinking about influencing the world around us, raising kids, domestic diplomacy (?),  building anything more than what we were going to need to get started.

13 years later we were at odds with one another about something -- and the kids knew it too.  I don't even remember what about now.  We all went to bed without reaching common ground or putting an end to it.  (I think it's ok to go to bed angry.. I know I'm wrong.. but a good night's rest often provides clarity.  :)

The next morning I'm up in the kitchen. There's a fortune cookie on the counter.

I walked back into our bedroom, handed Matt the cookie, and said no matter what the cookie says.. we'll put last night behind us and "bide by the fortune."  (Stupid -- but I needed an ice breaker!)

He opened the cookie, read the fortune, and groaned "ooooh.hh... greeatt..

I thought.. Oh no!  The fortune must say "RUN while your legs still can!"

This is what the fortune said:



...I worry that I give off the impression through blogging or social media posts that my life is always ?hunky-dorey?.. because my posts might tend to be positive. For the most part I could get away with saying it IS .. but NOT without having to maually push that "start over button" once-in-a-while or get it back on the rails from time to time. And NOT by doing it alone.. Matt and I have totally acknowledge that God is in the center of this -- or we're sunk.

That being said ...we must annoy God alot.

(But that's ok..)

Alabama couple moving to Terre Haute.. Closing Tues.. What gift?

I'VE GOT SOME GREAT IDEAS from FB friends...

I will incorporate some of what they suggested..  THEN print off the entire thread and hand it to my clients.  I think it will be great fun for them to take these suggestions and seek out the things I didn't give them.  How nice to know a bunch of people were putting a little thought into their move here this week!  -- I know some great -- creative people!

There are nuances to my job that I get tickled about.. 

One of which is buying the closing gift.  It's fun to walk through the gift bag isle at the store and have a reason to buy a cute one. 

Problem is ...I get closing gift BLOCK on occassion. Can't think of anything "cool" and default to the Walmart Card or Lowes/Menards.. depending on which side of town the house is on.

Just as in the case of my Alabama couple there are times when I really want to step out of the generic box and do something special.



Only ONCE did I screw up big time and go a little more "special" than I intended... I mean "special" like I was afraid to tell Matt exactly HOW MUCH special....

(Que the walk down memory lane music...)

Young couple with a newborn buying a house on the east side.  The seller had lost his wife and was moving into an apartment.  Great family home about to start over with a new family.



There was a tandem bike in the garage that the wife wanted to purchase from the seller.  I told her that we couldn't put it on the purchase agreement.  (That's true the lender does not want personal property on the purchase agreement -- other than the major appliances, attached fixtures, window treatments etc.)



Back to the story....

I told my clients that we would ask the seller about the bike after we negotiated the purchase price. (Again, great idea.  You never want the purchase of some personal property to affect the price of the real estate.)

Problem was by the time I asked the seller about the tandem bike... he told me he had sold it to the plumber who had recently made a repair for him.  He said he sold it for $100.

OH NO!

 

It's my fault.. we didn't mention it at the time of purchase.. She wanted that bike so bad!!... DANG!

Later that night I called the plumber... "Hi, this is Debbie Hill.  I heard you bought a tandem bike today from Mr. Seller. Would you sell it to me for $150 CASH?"



He thinks about it ... calls me back ...  YES!  He WILL sell the bike to me for $150.  Problem solved.

Later that week the seller shows up at the office to sign a misc paper.. "Well hello Mr. Seller!  You'll never believe this but I got the plumber to sell me that bike!  'Cost me $150!!"

His jaw drops...

"You DID say you sold it to him for $100?  Didn't you?"

The short of it... He had actually just traded the bike to the plumber for a new faucet on the front of the house....



Yes.. that stung a little bit. 

(Que back to present day music..)

So anyway... It is fun to hand someone a gift...

...but I have to admit -- it's hard to keep on top of.  Sometimes a closing sneaks up on me and I make a mental note to send a thank you gift to my client..

I still have a couple outstanding.  BUT I WILL GET TO THEM. 

Don't I have a year??? (Or is that just for the wedding gift I still owe someone?)