Thanksgiving time again.  One of my favorite holidays.  I like all holidays really, but the thing I like most about Thanksgiving is that everybody can participate and it is a pretty laid back holiday unless you’re doing the cooking.

I woke up today thinking what I was thankful about.  Lots of things popped into my head, but one thought really stuck out to me.

I’ve always wanted to be in real estate.  I almost got into it back in about 1999 but I wasn’t able to make the jump.  You need some reserve income to jump into real estate.  It can take a while to get off the ground.

I was again thinking about real estate in 2003.  The mother of an old high school friend was a realtor and she was doing really well.  I was a little hesitant to pull the trigger, but then Francis said she would pay for half of my real estate school.  That was over $500.  That was a huge amount to me back then.

What Francis did not realize (or maybe she did?) was that she had effectively removed the last justifiable reason I had to not get my real estate license.   Since I was left without an excuse, we went to the real estate school.  I plopped down my half.  She plopped down her half.  The rest as they say, is history.

I’ve always been appreciative of her for doing this, but until this morning I thought it was about the money.  I now do not think it was about the money.  I think she saw my potential and it was about getting me there.

I have had an incredible time the past 10.5 years since I got my license.  I get to talk about houses and neighborhoods all day.  I don’t have to tuck in my shirt.  I get to be out all over town.  I get to wear sandals everywhere.  I get to meet a lot of people.  And I get to wear sandals everywhere.

A lot of people have helped to get me where I am today.  My parents.  My wife.  Everybody who has ever bought or sold a house through me.  All of you are very important to me and I am thankful for all of you…..especially Francis, who was at the right place at the right time and did the right thing.

To Francis and anybody reading this….have a happy Thanksgiving!