TheBanyanTree: Clearing Out

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I really enjoy walking.  I enjoy simple, easy walking when it’s not fitness
walking or burn a lot of calories walking.  I just like to walk to look
around.  And I don’t do much of that at all.  One of the biggest reasons I
want to move is because we don’t live in a “walking” area.

We live on a cul de sac and our only outlet is an extremely busy street with
no sidewalks.  I hate walking on that road where cars are whizzing by me at
incredible speeds.  A couple of years ago, a girl walking to her school bus
stop, just a couple of blocks from my house, was hit and killed by a wayward
car.  Whenever we drive into the central city, I love watching people amble
along their sidewalks, going from neighborhood to neighborhood.

There was a “no go” on our house.  The people decided our house needed too
much work.  The driveway was bad.  Yes, that’s true.  Three years ago we got
an estimate and it would cost about $4,000 to replace the driveway.  It was
the driveway or a cruise, and the cruise won out.

They felt our siding was bad.  We have cedar siding on our house and it was
painted eight years ago.  It’s looking a little rough, but there is no
damage to the wood.  Yes, it needs to be painted in a couple of years, but
Ray and I aren’t doing it.

Finally, they didn’t like that we have to rake the roof.  The ceiling in our
living room vaults up and there is no attic above it.  The previous owners
told me if we rake the snow off the roof, there will be no ice dams or
interior water damage and that’s true.  I always rake the part of the roof
above the living room.  There is no flaw with the roof, it’s just the way
the house was designed.

Our house is priced at a level that it’s not a perfect house.  We had work
to do when we moved in, it’s a forty year old house and it will need work.
I have a feeling this couple was comparing our house to another and our
house lost out.  It’s devastating to me, but that’s why I’m not a
salesperson, I take stuff like that too hard.  But it’s back to the drawing
board.  We have a showing today.

Our sick beagle is now a well beagle with a clear nose and puppy-like
behaviors.  He shot out the door the other day and frolicked through the
neighborhood as dear Ray tried to catch him.  What is a dog’s favorite game?
Catch me if you can!  A woman finally was able to grab Axel and hand him
over to Ray.  I’m so glad I wasn’t home, I would have been hysterical.

The joy of having a clear nosed beagle is walking him after dinner.  After
Axel finishes his meal, we go for a jaunt through the neighborhood, with a
leash, and enjoy the dark night.  We’re venturing further out and I’ll need
to remember to bring a flashlight on our dark walks, so those wild drivers
can see me.

Last night and early this morning, we were treated by views of twinkling
stars, which we haven’t seen in days.  I actually saw the moon last night
after dinner and marveled at what an interesting site that was.  We were
buried under clouds since Christmas and finally our world is being serenaded
by the sun once more.

The sky has cleared out, the beagle’s nose is snot free, and life goes on as
good as it gets in January.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a
list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance
the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for
flaws, but for potential.
~Ellen Goodman