The Gesture of a Gentleman

I was standing in the one and only Hallmark Store in our town when my phone rang. A call from the Leasing Office. Uh oh. And on a Saturday.Turned out a parent was in the office worried about her daughter, who she said she couldn’t reach, so I told the Leasing Specialist I was only minutes away from her property so I would come in in a few. After that (and it would NOT be Finals Week and semester end without at least one Welfare Call in #studenthousing) I drove back to the shopping center where the Hallmark Store was located.

I was waiting my turn to go up the aisle of the lot when someone else took his turn. I wasn’t paying too close attention but noticed a very elderly woman walking across the lot from the store. She crossed in front of the car and looked confused. She wasn’t holding anything and I kind of wondered if she was looking for her car (silently thinking, WoW! Do you still drive?) Then another man walked out of the store and stopped. He apparently was sizing up this woman’s predicament, too. The car in front of me pulled up to the elderly lady and waited beside her. She caught a look at the driver and immediate recognition registered on her face and she began to walk around the front of the car to the passenger side. She seemed pretty unsteady on her feet and for a split second I worried she might fall.

Quietly and quickly the man waiting at the curb stepped off and immediately went to her, offered his arm and walked her around to the passenger side. He was speaking to her and she was nodding her head. He reached for the car door, opened it and helped her into the seat. Then he smiled and said something else and closed the door. He walked away to find his own car and carry on with his day. I was waiting far enough back to see everything but not close enough to hear anything. 

The gesture of this gentleman touched my heart deeply and I suddenly missed my mom. How sweet and thoughtful of him to see this person in need and reach out. It inspired me. How I wanted to get the opportunity to carry this forward, and I intend to do just that. I will especially look for these opportunities when dealing with my teams and our residents. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind.

Apartments Are Homes, Too!

I don’t miss owning a house. I do miss the sense of freedom I had when I lived in a house. When you live in an apartment, there are all kinds of things that make it easy to not miss a house, such as having someone readily available to make repairs 24/7. I like that! And I don’t have to worry about who to hire to make the repair or the cost of it. If the disposal isn’t working, call maintenance. Have a problem with the internet, call the office and they reset it. 

With that upside, though, the trade-off is not having the freedom to enhance your living space, sometimes in any way. That can be a very difficult adjustment. I am still reeling and dealing with this one. I am allowed to paint, sort of. This means even if I plan to live here for the next ten years, when I move out (even if it is in a body bag from old age, which I hope won’t happen in the next 40 years) I have to make sure the walls are returned to the condition in which I took possession. And it might be hard to match that 10-year old paint color. 

They don’t even allow me to install my own light fixtures, even if I hire an electrician to do it. I find this to be very discouraging – every time I walk into my apartment, I am greeted by those ugly boob lights at ceiling level. I hate them. And, it does affect how I feel about being “home.” It completely sends the message that this is a temporary residence, plus, did I emphasize how ugly those lights are? It’s as if Management is expecting me to move.

Do we want our residents to look at apartment living as always temporary? 

I do miss having an attached garage. Not that I putter, but it would be nice to have a place to hammer and construct my projects without completing taking over the dining/kitchen area (which incidentally is the only tiled area so if I spill something, clean-up is easier.) I have a carport space that I pay for, but I can’t really store anything there, plus they keep raising the rent of the carport every time I turn around. They don’t even give you a lease for the carport, except at move in time, which guarantees your rate for that first year. After that, the price can and does, often, go up. This is frustrating. 

There is the perception that if you live in an apartment, you don’t really live there – it’s just a place to stay until something better comes along. I don’t like this thought at all. Why can’t your apartment be the “something better” that came along? You know what I wish? I wish apartment communities created private outdoor entertaining spaces where you could invite friends and families for an impromptu cook out gathering – and not at the Clubhouse. I’m talking about green space with updated, modern, outdoor kitchen areas with nice outdoor furniture and good lighting options so you can actually spend time there. Including a fire pit option would just tickle me to no end. When you have a house, there is usually a deck and/or backyard area to do this in, and I do miss that. My family used to have some great outdoor parties.

I think people want a simple life away from work, to be happy, to be free to dream, play, create and enjoy just “hanging out” when “home.” I just wish Owners, developers and management companies placed the emphasis on designing homes and not a temporary “rest stop.”

Black Friday Traditions

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a Facebook post from a family friend espousing her disappointment that stores are opening on Thanksgiving evening again this year. She went on to say people who shop then are losing out on being with their families and how they are materialistic above all else. I dismissed it and did not comment or “Like” the post, but now that the big Turkey Day event is upon us in only a few days, her words keep echoing around in my already overloaded head.

Here is why I choose to shop on Thanksgiving evening and Black Friday. Years ago, I was really struggling to make it on my meager salary and being a single mother with two kids who had lists of electronics and clothing and gadgets dancing in their heads, I was determined to get a couple of deals. So, yes, I stood in lines and waited my turn and scooped up some bargains. But I didn’t stand in the lines alone. No, with my son being in the care of my best friend’s husband, she, along with my teen age daughter joyfully spent those hours TOGETHER. At that time, it was a matter of getting up and out before the crack of dawn. Now, we head out in the black of night.

We strategically plan the entire trip, including snacks and meal breaks. We laugh and share jokes and take all the time we want. It is a bonding experience like no other. And it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a lot of money to spend, that it may be minus degree temps, snowing, raining, unseasonably warm, that we gained weight or lost weight or lost a job, changed jobs, struggled through an illness. It just doesn’t matter. We are together. We are united in our efforts to keep in touch.

We have weathered the storms of life together and shared so many laughs. And it is absolutely a joy that my daughter joined our ranks and is part of this tradition. If not for her, the shopping trip would not be so enjoyable because she is the one who maps it and puts it all together, and I love her for that. I love that my best friend and her husband have come every year for at least 20 years every Thanksgiving. These are two people for whom I am thankful. And the feeling of thankfulness continues every single day thereafter.

Wouldn't it be a nice touch if our Leasing Offices opened up in those wee hours of the morning with a coffee and donut breakfast on-th-go on that most important day of sharing with a new Black Friday tradition?