What an honor to be called upon in a time such as this. In the last month, Dyan and I have received countless calls, texts and emails from clients leaning on us for information, advice and support. While we are doing our best to share our perspective in this unprecedented time, we can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the relationships we have formed by simply loving on people.
We often speak of our “Board of Directors” – those we lean on for sound advice in their area of expertise. Whether it’s your CPA, your attorney, insurance agent or financial adviser, it’s so incredibly important to align with those you trust, who wholeheartedly have your back and who you can really rely on in uncertain times.
Anyone who has ever talked to us is clear that candor and diplomacy rank high in our list of core values. We have never been ones to beat around the bush or tell someone something just because it is what they want to hear. We have both felt a conviction to guide our clients as it relates to their best interests even when it doesn’t necessarily align with ours. You can imagine this has resulted in some pretty hard conversations but also some very authentic and beautiful ones.
I will never forget when a past client told me the one thing he loved most about us was he could feel that we wouldn’t just sell them a house, to sell them a house and believe me when I tell you, this guy required a lot of attention. There is no doubt had we been willing to just sell him any ol’ house, we would have saved ourselves a huge amount of time and effort. He was incredibly detailed – conducting thorough research on every property he was considering (even before seeing it and knowing for sure). We patiently researched detail after detail, providing him with essentially everything we could get our hands on other than a DNA sample from the seller (we are actually not even joking). We became his trusted advisor and rightfully so and while it required a considerable commitment on our end, we would not have wanted it any other way.
As we are all slowing our hustle and bustle for the time being, we are finding our opportunities to re-engage in human connection are boundless. By being “forced” to shelter in place, we have created space for good old-fashioned conversation and while it at first felt like an interruption to our “gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,” it has been a refreshing change of pace and long overdue.
Dyan and I are very fortunate to have created a life that is so integrated with one another, we have been able to weather this storm quite well. Little did we know when we built our homes side by side, sharing a large yard (with no fence between our two homes), it would be so instrumental for something such as this. Sheltering in place has been an eight-person adventure instead of four and four.
Trust me when I say it has also been a life saver. Of the four kids we have between the two of us, they are close enough in age that tackling lesson plans x 4 is manageable. We have divided and conquered giving us each the opportunity to navigate our commitments to their education but also our longing for adult interaction and staying connected with our real estate business.
Some days we feel overwhelmed but it is almost always short lived. We are learning the freedom associated with having grace, have found deeper connections with our children and each other and are really learning the power of fellowship. We each find so much joy in giving and supporting the other household “end” game.
This time of year, would normally be frantic with baseball games, soccer and track practice, coaching and the list goes on. Instead, we are putting together puzzles that have collected dust for years, releasing our inner tetherball beasts on our children (who somehow think their moms are so ancient we wouldn’t have even known how to play) fiercely competing in backyard cornhole tournaments, learning how to bake from scratch and also how to do life with nowhere to run off to when someone gets on your very last nerve. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck and we are stuck together so you might as well get out of your own damn way and figure out a way to work together.
Each week our kids have to record a video of their “highs and lows” for the week and as they recount how art projects or card games, splitting firewood or running an obstacle course was the highlight, we find ourselves releasing a huge sigh of release. Maybe we aren’t so bad at this after all. Maybe all the “gotta go” activities were just distractions filling in with things to do so we didn’t have to really feel what was actually missing: simplicity.
We look forward to continuing to watch the ways in which our community is reconnecting with their loved ones and with each other. We continue to believe we will see incredible things come from these trying times. We are humbled by the check-ins that we are receiving from those who are part of our professional family and we are blessed beyond measure to have been prepared for such a time as this.
