The Merry Month of May

Hello!
The month of May is in full swing. Last weekend was U of A commencement and Mother's Day. I hope you didn't forget your Mother. You are probably in trouble if you did. And after the deadline of the Tax Credit, you probably have lots of follow-up work to do on all those contracts you wrote during the last week on April.
May is always a busy month. School is winding down, graduations are taking place, baseball and softball season is just gearing up and vacations are being scheduled. One of my daughters is a 2nd grade teacher and she is counting down the days until school is out. I thought this might be a 2nd grade teacher thing, but one of my nieces' husband teaches at Huntsville High School and he is also counting the days as is my oldest sister who teaches at Heritage High. So, what summer plans do you have? If you have young children try to take some time for them. They are only young once. And if you have college age children, hang on, because this is a whole new time for you! I had to change my whole mind set and when they came home on weekends, etc. I really
One of my daughters is moving to Dallas this weekend. I am not sure how I feel about this. I know Dallas is only 5 hours away and she is young and this is a good opportunity for her and she has a great job and all that. But it is really hard for me to accept this change. Two of our other children have lived away from NWA (one even in Dallas) but they had roommates and people to take care of them, but this one will be on her own. We do have relatives who live in the area, so maybe I will just have to rely on them. Anyway, think about me this weekend as I try to put on a "happy for you" face, that we mothers have learned to do.
Well, the info about my daughter is not about real estate, but it is about changes. And if you think about it, if you are representing a buyer or seller, those people are going through major changes in their lives. Buying a house is the biggest purchase they will ever make. Some are downsizing and some are moving up. Some are moving across the country and others are moving down the street. Whatever the circumstances, you can bet there are emotions involved and a good Realtor will recognize this, and make sure they act accordingly.
Next week is the May membership meeting for the Rogers Board of Realtors. We are having a picnic at the lovely Grand Pavilion at Prairie Creek. I've got my cooks lined up and am looking for some entertainment. I am hoping the weather will hold, because we do not have a contingency plan. We have some great Affiliates that are providing most of the food and we really appreciate them. I would like to see a big number of our members out to enjoy this networking time together.
Two other things about changes and I will end this. Two businesses in downtown Rogers recently have closed their doors and both have been in Rogers as long as I can remember. George's Flowers closed their doors a few weeks ago. I grew up in Rogers and this was the only flower shop around for a long time. Any time I got a corsage or flowers, (even my flowers in my wedding) they came from George's. They were a mainstay in Rogers. And then just this week I noticed a sign on the marquee' of the Hi-D-Ho that said "Store Closed". This was another icon for any person that went to the old Rogers Junior High and the old, old Rogers High School. At that time the H-D-Ho was about where the parking lot for the Rogers School Administration is now. But it was the after school hang-out for many years. Sorry to see it go too! See what I mean about changes. Sometimes I just feel old!
I usually write on here on Friday, but I had to write today because I will be in Dallas making sure my confident daughter is settled into her new "townhouse" . I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy whatever point you are in your life.
Oh- did I mention our other daughter is moving back in with us? Now that is going to be a whole other column on change!
Make it a good one...

Finally Friday!

I think I may be getting the hang of blogging. I did my newsletter for May this week and sent it out and this is not that much different. But I don't know if anyone is reading this but me. How do I tell? I am sure someone can tell me.
I can run a report on my newsletter and see how many were sent out and how many were opened. It is kind of depressing to do that because only 18.8% of the newsletters I sent out were opened. I am going to work on getting that number up- not sure how yet, but I will figure it out!
How do you like this Spring? The weather has been pretty good. Some days I wish I could move my desk outside and work. Or forget the desk - I'll just go sit outside with a good book.
Things in the Real Estate market seem to be looking up. We have had a lull in our business at the Board office this week, but I think it might be everyone is following up on contracts written last week to qualify for the Tax Credit. That is over for now, but remember it has to close by July 1, 2010.
I gave these stats out in my newsletter, but I am going to repeat them because we do have people ask us about this. Dale Stinton (NAR COO) stated in 2007 there were 3 million Real Estate Licensees and 1.2 million REALTORS. Today we have 2.4 Million Licensees and 1.4 million REALTORS. Even though the number of licensees is down, the number of those licensees beingREALTORS is up. That means we have more agents that have sworn to follow a very complete comprehensive Code of Ethics. Good job!
There is a lot going on in NW Arkansas these days. The Primary election is heating up to be a good one and there are record numbers of Early Voters. Exercise your right to vote. This is your opportunity to voice your opinion by casting that vote. Remember our Government is "of the people by the people for the people." (Or something like that.)
The Spring Craft Shows are going on this weekend, Graduation ceremonies for the U of A are also this weekend and I have heard about a bike race going on in Fayetteville too. Plus the big Buddy Bass Tournament sponsored by the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce is Saturday. What a great place to live where you have so much going on all the time! Oh, and don't forget Mother's Day Sunday May 9. Being the Mother of 4 grown children and fortunate enough to have my Mother still here on Earth makes this a special day for me. I am one of 4 daughters my mother raised.
Well, I think these blogs are supposed to be shorter than I am making this one. I like to write and so I get carried away. Sorry about that!
Go out and make it a great weekend and a fantastic week!