Today was one of those days that I long for. It started out nothing short of typical. We had a mad rush in the morning getting Rylie ready for school, getting myself ready for a class, getting Baby K, who so isn’t a baby any more, ready for the sitter… It started out typical. I spent my day in class gaining more and more knowledge on real estate. I truly feel like a sponge that has spent the last week in the Sahara and is constantly soaking up water. I am the sponge and information is the water. There is so very much to learn and I am enjoying learning it all.
Now let’s get back to my title, we all have friends. You have friends, and I have friends, but let me just tell you, I HAVE SOME REALLY SPECIAL FRIENDS. Today we celebrated my friend Scott’s 64th birthday. We met at an amazing location, Whistle Hop Brewery. If you haven’t checked this place out just yet, you are missing out! Check out their website, especially the pictures that show the renovation… https://whistlehop.com/ Back to Scott’s 64th birthday, the math nerd in me got all excited! In case you are missing out on my excitement, let me digress for a minute…
1. 64 is a perfect square… i.e. 8^2=8*8=64
There are lots of perfect squares, but 64 gets even better…
2. 64 is a perfect cube… i.e. 4^3=4*4*4=64
Can you feel my excitement yet? Can you see where this is going… 🙂
3. Finally 64 is also a sixth power… 2^6=2*2*2*2*2*2=64
I tried explaining to Scott how mathematically powerful this birthday was, but he just laughed at me, along with the rest of my friends.
Okay, back to the task at hand. My friends, why are they so special? They just get me. They are kind, they are smart, they are loving, they are caring, they are giving, they are humble, I could go on and on and on… My friends have been such an integral piece of my transition from education to real estate.
This is me, with two of my very best friends, Heather and Bridget.
Take one of my very best friends Heather. While she may be in Alaska living her winter in darkness, she is constantly checking in on me to see how things are going. She spent countless hours letting me bounce ideas off of her when trying to come up with the name of my business and website. She may have even been the one that chose the name… To be honest so many names were thrown around I can’t remember who nailed the name, but I am going to give her all the credit. Heather has been my friend for a very long time and I am so very thankful for our old and renewed friendship.
Bridget was pretty instrumental in this transition. In the spring last year, we took a girls trip to see Amy Schumer in Greenville, SC. I mentioned to her that I was considering transitioning to another career. I told her I had tossed around the idea of real estate in my head since my husband was doing his first real estate investment renovation. She told me from the beginning that she thought it was a fantastic idea and she felt I would be very successful. She’s worked in real estate since graduating college so her advice was very meaningful. Despite the fear that I still had at that point, I decided to take a leap of faith and give it a try. Man am I thankful for that trip, although just to clarify, Amy Schumer was not as good as I was hoping for…. But I am extremely thankful for the encouragement she gave.
Then there are all my “teacher friends.” Let’s face it, when you become a teacher, I mean really become a teacher, so many of your colleagues become new “teacher friends.” Leaving education was a challenge because I felt I was leaving a little piece of my heart behind with my “teacher friends” who now I just call my best friends, and my former students. I was so scared that things were going to be different because our schedules don’t match up anymore, but that simply isn’t the case at all. Friends are the second best part of our lives. My family is the best but my friends are right there in a close second place.
These are many of the “teacher friends” and their families I have made over the years
I also get another HUGE network of friends. I have spent the last 10 years coaching. All of those players and many of the parents are still near and dear to my heart. Many of them have become very good friends of mine. I spend time connecting with their daughter for a season, or two, or three, or even four years for some, strong connections occur and you find yourself completely invested in the lives of your players and their success with volleyball, but more importantly with life. It’s crazy for me to think that many of the girls that I had the honor of coaching are now having babies of their own. (It’s going to get even crazier the first time I coach one of their daughters…) While I don’t spend as much time coaching now as I did in the past, it is the main way that I choose to give my time back to my community.
This is just a tiny sampling of the many young ladies who have touched my life over the years that I have coached.
I just made it to the finish line of a marathon closing with a dear sweet volleyball mom. Despite the best planning, sometimes purchasing real estate can be tricky. Often the rules will change in the middle of the process or rates can change and this can change things on the buying side. Through the entire process, she trusted me to guide her to the finish line. There were times that she feared the whole thing would fall apart, but I reassured her that we would make it, and we did! She is now a happy homeowner and so relieved to be done with the process. I was just happy to be there to help her and “coach” her through the process, just like I coached her daughter for years. I am thankful that she put her faith in me to guide her through the stressful process of buying a home. More than that, I am thankful for her friendship and for the relationship that I have with her family.
Nerina, Sophia, and Eli ready to get into their new place! <3
Without our friends, we do still have our family, but I think it could get awfully lonely sometimes. Reach out to an old friend today, someone that you maybe haven’t talked to in a few months, maybe even a few years. Our friends are precious gifts that we need to make sure we don’t forget about. Thank you to all my friends for your unwavering support during this transition in my life!!!!!
Thanks for reading!
