The Rain

The lone figure paces the gazebo as I watch from my porch through the torrential downpour.  My muse wonders what brings this sole man to the gazebo for so many hours every day?  Why does he pace tonight when other nights he sits quietly?  Does the storm disturb him?  Is he struggling?  Hours this lonely figure spends in the gazebo across the street.  Seldom does he have company.  Seldom does he seem as agitated as this evening.  The thunder claps again and I'm nudged from my reverie by the frightened dog behind me.

The rain produces contemplation.  My mind wanders.  I return to the figure in the gazebo.  He's Everyman.  He could be waiting for a loved one.  He could be fighting the demons within.  He could simply be seeking the same solace in the rain that I am.

I reflect on my years in real estate.  This career has held me like no other.  I've not been bored.  I've been challenged.  I've been stretched.  I've grown.  I've become a professional.  Why this job, though?  Is it the people and the variety?  Is it the chance to satisfy a need?  Is it the chance to apply my humanity to the workplace?  Is it the ability to care without having to care too much?  Is it the chance to treat others with respect?  It's that and so much more.

Other jobs had a ceiling.  I conquered the job and soon got bored, but not with real estate.  Like the weather, it's ever changing.  Sometimes it bears down like the storm I'm sharing with the lone man across the street, with a force so heavy and harsh I worry about survival.  Other times the days are sunny and the tasks feel light.  Without a doubt, real estate is like the infinite variety of snowflakes, ever changing, always different.  This one thing, above others, is what draws me.

Never, never have I been bored.  Every transaction has challenged.  Sometimes the personalities involved are the challenge.  Sometimes it's the problem solving.  Sometimes it's the bragging rights after the hunt, but always it has courted me and coaxed from me a loyalty no other job has.

Comments

[Bonnie Erickson]

Pretty high praise from a blogger I really respect. Thanks, Linda!

[Linda Davis]

I want to grow up and write just like you. It doesn't get much better.

[Bonnie Erickson]

Thank you, Carole. Both of you know how much we love the business. I actually have a panic attack when my husband suggests I get "a real job"!

[Carole Cohen]

Bonnie my friend, if you don't write a book someday the world will be the loser. What a beautiful post. I feel the same way but never in a million years would I have been able to write a post like that to say it!

[Kristal Kraft]

So true Bonnie! This business can both delight and aggravate, but there is nothing that can replace it.