Not to get sappy here, but I have certainly been grateful the last few days for a warm home. Shelter is something we use daily and we can become complacent about. Shelter is normal for us. Taking my first steps outside early yesterday morning with a reading of 18°F woke me up to how fortunate I am to have a warm and safe home. Sometimes it takes extreme events to wake-up grateful!

Coming back into the house yesterday morning, I remembered a real estate sale we made in Foley about eight years ago. It was a brand-new starter home. On the first reasonably cold day following the sale, we received a call from the young buyers. They said they had tried to find how to turn the heat on but couldn't figure it out. Come to find out, the HVAC system that was installed only had a cooling function, no heat. I had never come across a situation like that before. I do not recall the exact resolution of the issue, but it made me appreciate the heat function on a thermostat.

Like everything we do every day, life can get mundane as we trudge through our daily grind. We can easily take for granted the blessings we have, some blessings that much of the world population do not have…good roads, an abundance of food, a job, good schools, participation in local governance, a beautiful environment, and a nice Shelter!  

Yesterday, Troy sent out a Yapmo post entitled, The BEST things to do TODAY. It was a quick list of reasons to contact your sphere, along with a list of questions you could ask regarding our weather event. I hope some of you made the calls. Most of the questions had something to do with Shelter. This is the Shelter you probably sold to them during your daily grind. But what an important sale! You provided a family with a safe and warm home, their Shelter. And boy did it come in handy the last few days.

Ultimately, our work is The Business of Shelter. When the process gets annoying, the home inspection negotiation is getting difficult, the financing is blowing up, the seller left the property filthy, etc., reflect on the big picture - providing a safe and warm home for your client; providing their Shelter. That is our business. Be grateful.