Closing Out a Chapter of Life

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Onward Podcast. This is your host, Emily Harmon. This is a very emotional episode for me. For those of you who don’t know, maybe this is your first episode of the Onward Podcast that you’re listening to. I retired from working for the Department of Navy in May of 2019 and in June. My children’s father, my former husband, was diagnosed with stage four cancer, and he passed away on December 11th, 2019.

And on September 14th, I had one of the final things I needed to do as trustee. For his estate, for the trust, and that was to sell his house. And it was a very emotional time. And in this interview, my friend Helen Warnke is interviewing me actually. And she was [00:01:00] my friend and she also, uh, sold the house for me.

She’s a realtor and I wanted this episode to be perfect, but I know my introduction’s not perfect and it’s okay cuz there’s no such thing as perfect if you’re in the onward movement, you know that. The Onward Movement is another group that I lead, and if you just go to Facebook groups and search on the onward movement, you’ll find it.

But there’s no such thing as perfect. This isn’t going to be perfect. I have a deadline. I need to get this to the editor, and it’s just a lot of raw emotion in this episode, and that’s really all that I can say about it right now. So let’s get to the interview. I’m sitting here with Helen Warnke. I interviewed you before.

Yes. You about how you gave up a kidney. Yes, I did. Yes. And again, we’ve been friends for quite some time. Yeah. I told you, I think the first time was when you helped Ray coach basketball. Mm-hmm. I think is my first real memory. And then of course we saw each other on bays here and there. Yeah. So, yeah, it’s fun.[00:02:00] 

But, well, tonight I get to, or last night I got to stay at your house. We’re looking out over the, that’s the Wacom Como River, right? Yes. Wacom Co River. Mm-hmm. Yes. So we’re over here in chap deco. Just nice little quiet spot in the world. So yeah, you’re our other than our grandson, you’re our first house guest.

Well, it was really nice to stay here. You’re welcome to pass Warnky anytime. So I really wanted to record this with you because I know I suggested it by text, but something major is happening today. Yeah. For you and for your children. And I feel blessed to be a part of it cuz it is. A milestone in your lives that you know, some people it triggers things in their in their lives and they need to work through it emotionally.

I can see you that you’re getting emotional. I know I am. And I’ve been distracted all weekend. Yes. But don’t worry if I cry, that’s okay. I’ll cry with you cuz I get emotional about it too. But that’s what I love about my job is to help people and a lot of referrals I get are as. [00:03:00] States and your estate for Bruce, his family trust estate and selling the house that he lived in for many years while he was here in St.

Mary’s County and in, uh, working on the base, you know, I too had the privilege of working at one point with him. So I knew Bruce and I know that your relationship didn’t work successfully, but you have two beautiful kids out of it. Yeah. And getting to see them while you were cleaning up the house was awesome.

I hadn’t seen ’em since they were probably 10 or 12. Right. And to now see them as grown adults is just amazing. But today’s the milestone. I mean, it’s, even though you’re prepared for it, it’s still a time in your life that you have to stop and take a reflection of Just, you’re gonna be signing your name as a trustee for Bruce, and it’s probably one of the last elements of his estate that you have to take care of.

Besides filing tax returns, which we talked about last night are a pain in the pasu. But hey, but I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes about that and uh, gauge how you are and [00:04:00] knowing I shared my moment of last night of thinking that I was prepared for something and then for it to hit me like a ton of rocks.

And so that’s why I was like, we should really talk about this and see how you’re feeling. Yeah. Well, I’m not. Really good at knowing how I’m feeling. Mm-hmm. And that’s something that I’m working on because. I think we talked about it. When you work for the Navy in like a male dominated environment your whole life, you have to, you don’t have to, but you do tend to act a different way sometimes.

And then, you know, just my parents didn’t really talk about feelings that much. You know, my mom’s general, my mom’s 77 and so she’s been through some tough times, but you know, we were talking about that last night. Her family just doesn’t even talk about it. You just don’t talk about it. So. Right. She doesn’t really get how I’m feeling.

Over Bruce. She doesn’t understand it because he treated me so poorly when we were married. She doesn’t understand, you know, cuz I, I left and I, I saw her at the farmer’s [00:05:00] market on Saturday when I was leaving to come up here. Mm-hmm. And, uh, she said, oh yeah, you’re going to closing the house and good luck or whatever.

And I said, yeah, it’s really emotional. She goes, wow, you’re just selling the house so she doesn’t get it. So it’s like I don’t have that many people to talk to about, right. So I hired a counselor to help me with feeling more, and I’m learning that one of my ways to avoid feeling is to stay really busy.

And I thought that when I retired I would be able to slow down and not be as busy, but I noticed that I’m still busy. And um, actually she’s having me meditate for 40 days in a row and I haven’t been able to do it cuz I, I skip a day or something and she goes, well why are you skipping a day? And I said, because I’m too busy.

I’ve got all this stuff I wanna get done. And she goes, maybe that’s your way of avoiding feeling. Yeah. Because when I have to, when I meditate, I start to feel Yeah. And lately every time I meditate I start to think about Bruce and I cry. So I guess, and then, um, then you texted me. About the closing coming up, and I’m somebody who [00:06:00] doesn’t really think about my trip until like right before it happens, but actually this past week I’ve been feeling really stressed and part of it’s cause like I had to get some more death certificates and they came in the mail and it’s just so hard.

I open ’em and I just put ’em in a corner. Yeah. It’s hard. And then you texted me about it. I’m like, oh yeah. I guess maybe that’s why I’m stressed. Yeah. Inside you’re internalizing it. Yeah. Uhhuh. Yeah, because I’ve seen you come a long way. I mean, and I, you know, I listened to your podcast. Yeah. So I’ve seen or heard the progress as you’ve been moving through this, and you are so open about what you’re feeling and how you’re feeling, and that’s, I mean, That’s really awesome.

Yeah. So I feel like you’ve come a long way in the growth in this. He was a man that you loved. Yeah. He’s the man that you had two children with that are awesome. Right. Children. So yes, there was ugly there, but there was also this beauty there. Right. And so having to let go of [00:07:00] those feelings probably harbored some anger to keep him at a distance for a while.

Yeah. And now that you’re having to let go of that anger, you’re probably revisiting some of the things that you loved about him. And you see your kids every day, right. Or or on FaceTime or wherever they are. And you remind yourself of the beauty of what you had with him. Yeah. And so there is some positives to that whole thing, even if there’s still that little bit of anger.

Like last night when we were talking around the dinner table, I’m still a little angry about that situation and so they’re still gonna be carried that, but. At some point or another, don’t you feel like you’re starting to think about the nice things Yeah. That you knew about him? I think it’s more, less anger now and more hurt and sadness.

Mm-hmm. Because I really did love him. Mm-hmm. And I really didn’t wanna get a divorce. And when I look back on it now, back then, in the 2000 or so when we got divorced, you know, anxiety wasn’t. There wasn’t really a term for it. Yeah. And I think anxiety. I know anxiety is the [00:08:00] cause of a lot of the way he treated me.

Mm-hmm. And the sad thing is, is that he wouldn’t go get help for it. And you know, it was always my fault. So, and at some point when it started to impact the kids, I just had to leave. But yeah. But for the most part got along. We didn’t have to hire, we hired lawyers just to do the paperwork for the divorce, but we didn’t have this big argument over who got what.

We didn’t argue over money. Yeah. None of that. It wasn’t like a nasty divorce. And then he still supported me in my career. We would talk from time to time about work and different things and actually, um, my daughter’s boyfriend’s stepdad came over and he’s like somebody who came over to Bruce’s house when we were going through it, and he’s somebody who can like, Get feelings of things.

And it was, when went into Bruce’s house, which he was kind of a hoarder, it had a lot of stuff in it. And he goes, I just. Sense a lot of sadness. Mm-hmm. In here. Mm-hmm. And Bruce didn’t really date a lot after we split up. And um, you know, I know that there was sadness. He didn’t want to have a split, but [00:09:00] anyway.

And then, then when he got sick in June and then passed away in December, he was nice the whole time. Yeah. So we had. We were able to come to closure somewhat, but he doesn’t, he doesn’t talk about things, so he didn’t talk. He didn’t really admit that he was sick. He didn’t talk about it. So that’s something that I think comes up for me is like, I wish that he would’ve talked about it and we could just talk over some things, but he wouldn’t talk.

But what comes to my mind is that he trusted you. Yeah. You’re his trustee. Yeah. He trusted you. Mm-hmm. Knowing that he had to have something in his heart to know that. You were the one that he needed to rely on for everything and he knew that you would take care of your children. Yeah. He love there too.

Yeah. In that regard. Yeah. So initially it was his brother and then he switched it. Uhhuh, knowing you would take really good care of your two kids. Yeah. In regards to that. Yeah. And so, like I said, this is another milestone of closing out his life and. [00:10:00] That’s kind of hard too. It is. I mean, knowing that it’s kind of final, there’s still that, I don’t know, what do you call it?

Tentacle or something that is tying you to him. So once this closes out and you file that final tax return, whenever that may be, 21, 22, whenever it gets finished, and you’ll still have him in away because you’ll see the beauty in the two children. Yeah. You’ll have your CH two kids and the lives that they’ll bring into the world whenever they do that and.

Well, you’re already seeing it with Will and Marshall and Yeah. Collette is right. Corin. Corin. Mm-hmm. Sorry, sorry, Corin. So, um, yeah, and you, and, and it’s sad that, you know, like when Will gets married and Anna get married, that Bruce won’t be able to be there, but we all came to closure with him, so that’s a good thing.

Mm-hmm. There’s a lot of good about it. What a privilege. You know, you asked me earlier when my dad died and it was 2005. And Charlene Forrest was my boss and she was the best boss I think I ever had. Um, 15 years outta my 30 I worked with or for her. I remember her Bruce talking [00:11:00] about her. She really was squared away, but the kindest soul.

And my dad had a stroke on the first week, I think I worked for her. Mm-hmm. And she’s go take care of your family. Come back when you’re ready. But, Two years later, here’s my dad diagnosed and is definitely gonna go in like three weeks. And she said, what do you wanna do? And I said, I wanna, I wanna go sit with him.

Mm-hmm. So back then, of course I could have taken my laptop, but I still had invoices from contractors that were in paper form. I just would gather my paper every day and I’d go sit in the room with my dad at the house. Oh, and people are like, you know, you think, oh, tragedy, he died of cancer and all these things.

But I look back and I go, what a privilege. Yes. And your kids are gonna look back at that. Wow. You had a chance to have conversations, Anna was able to take, not even work, and just be there and take care of him the whole time. Mm-hmm. And have some conversations with him. Yeah. Yeah. That is a privilege, you know, moving him from bed to chair or whatever.

I mean, I laid my dad out on the bathroom floor. He just stuck his hand behind his head and laid on the [00:12:00] floor and said, call your sister Paula. She’ll come help me get, get me off the floor. And I was like crying. I’m sorry dad. I forgot to lock the wheelchair. And just was like, so again, Ann will probably have some funny memories Yes.

To, to keep. Her smiling too. Yeah. Yeah. But what a privilege. I always say it’s a privilege. Yeah. Some people think it’s a chore to take care of someone that’s dying. No, it is. We talked about spiritual things. Mm-hmm. If you can’t see a spirit, a grace, a God, whatever you believe in that process, it’s Oh yeah.

No, you definitely do. Yeah. So where you sit, we, I’ve never been next to somebody. I’ve never really lost somebody that I was really close to. I mean, my grandmother’s. Yes, but it’s different. Maybe when they’re a little older. I don’t know. But, and I wasn’t, didn’t spend, I wasn’t like, didn’t grow up in a family like you where everyone lived close, you spent a lot of time with them.

Mm-hmm. So Bruce is the, the first person that I’ve actually seen pass away. And with technology. What was cool is I was able to, while he, you know, the day [00:13:00] he died and you just had that hard breathing and everything, but I was able to get his. His dad and his, one of his brother, both of his brothers and his dad weren’t there.

So I was able to get them on the phone and they talked to Bruce and you could tell that Bruce couldn’t say anything, but you could tell he heard. Yeah. And then called his best friend from West Point, Roland. Roland stepped out of a meeting, took the call, and was able to talk to Bruce and his best friend from high school.

Yeah. And that was pretty cool. And then I remember, um, he had a motorcycle and he wanted, will, wanted to get it, but I told him, He was dying. I said, I actually think Bruce, I’m gonna take that motorcycle and drive cross country. You can see his eyes like, like, no. His eyes brighten up. And it was just funny.

We all noticed there was a reaction there, Uhhuh, because he never would trust me on a motorcycle or anything. He knows how I am. So it was just funny. So there’s, you know, and just. We all sung as he was passing away, and it was just really Yeah. A blessing to be able to be there. Mm-hmm. And I was thankful William was able to come [00:14:00] down and, and be there.

Yeah. It’s just, I mean, it, it’s hard, but at the same time you’re like, you’re experiencing this passing of wherever they’re going to. Um, yeah. I believe in heaven. So they’re going there and you think if what? We’re told is happening, no pain. Right. You know, maybe, I don’t know, maybe he’s mo riding a motorcycle up there somewhere or whatever.

He’s happy but to, to know that it just feels, to me that’s comforting to know Yeah. That they’re, they’re finished with whatever’s going on in that body here. Yeah. They’re outta pain. Mm-hmm. And, um, I bought this book this weekend and is, I’ve written, read a few books by people who have died and then come back and one of them.

I don’t remember the name of it was a brain surgeon though, so he knew all about the brain. So he kind of knew what was happening as this was happening to him, he said. But anyway, this woman had like stage four cancer and she died and then she said she made a decision to come back. But she said basically, and I’m not done reading it, but heaven is like a place, it’s like a [00:15:00] state of mind.

It’s like just, and then even Walt, the one of a former boyfriend of mine, he said when he was 12 he drowned and. His sister saved them, but he remembers like this feeling of lightness and just happiness, like love and floating over the trees. Wow. So I think he was close to death. Mm-hmm. And then, you know, was saved.

And so that’s what people describe is just, it’s an indescribable feeling of love and all the pain’s gone. Yeah. Yeah. The unfortunate part is we’re all still here and we’re experiencing the pain. Yeah. You know, the emotional pain of losing somebody. Yeah. Um, and again, like I said, today you’re signing your name with trustee behind it on a house that he is lived in.

All the belongings, you’ve already worked through those emotions of clearing out the house. Yeah. Clearing out the memories. Yeah. It was really hard. Yeah. Cuz I saw you guys that weekend. Yeah. Or that week actually it was a Monday. And so. That was hard. So these little milestones gonna keep coming up. I know.

Whatever. And like you said, it’s not gonna be done. I mean, [00:16:00] obviously every time Well, when the kids get married. Yeah. When they have kids. Yeah. When they have kids. Yeah. It’s gonna be that milestone. Yeah. And Bruce is gonna come back in your mind and in your heart for a little bit. Yeah. And it’ll be a little twinge.

Yeah. But maybe between now and then you’ll see something that will bring the happiness and the smiles rather than the tears of sadness. Yeah. Tears of happiness definitely kind of deal. So one of the things that was hard. Was going through his boxes because he had a lot of boxes in the basement that we had never gone through.

They had been boxes since I had married him. You know, he just kept everything, he had all his journals from when he was at West Point, he had a day planner for every year from, from back to 1970. Wow. Six or so, maybe even earlier. Cause he graduated in 78, so he had a day planner for every day. Can’t read his handwriting.

So I don’t know what everything happened. Mm-hmm. But you know, you would see, we found, um, like. Uh, helmets from when he was a test pilot, we found, like his flight logs, we found so many different things and it was good to find it, and it was hard to see my [00:17:00] son and my daughter realize they, there’s some aspects of him that they didn’t know because it’s like, you know, when you’re a teenager growing up or when you’re, you know, you think that you know a little bit about your parents, but you’re not really that interested in the history or how they were or what it was like.

Mm-hmm. And, um, so now that Williams. He was 26 when we were going through, I think, I know he wanted to know more about his dad and now his dad’s gone. He can’t ask questions, but Yeah. Yeah. But we do know his best friend from um, west Point and they can talk to him. Right. So, I don’t remember the timeline, but was.

Were the kids born while he was in the military or was he a civil service? He was working at a Oh, okay. In Annapolis. Okay. When I met him, and I was a lieutenant in the Navy. Mm-hmm. I was stationed at the Naval Academy. Yeah. And then I got stationed in DC so he, yeah, he, we moved down to Pax when Anna was one.

So he got a job and he was 24 now. So he got a job with the government when Anna was about one. Got it. Mm-hmm. Okay. So they don’t re have memories of him being in the military at all? They do some, because he was a reservist. Right. And he retired as a colonel. So they saw him on the [00:18:00] weekend with drill and stuff, but Got it.

It’s a little different. Yeah. Because when you discover the things that he had from his career, right. In the military, In a box somewhere, like you said, they really wanna know the story. Yeah. And then you don’t have it. Mm-hmm. But, um, some of his name plates for his desk and stuff, Will’s gonna put in his office.

Mm-hmm. So I think that’s cool. Yeah. So, so, you know, last night we talked about Skye and his synchronicity Yeah. And how everything kind of happens. Do you think that something you’re experiencing during this. Really, I think it’s prepping you for something you’re gonna face and you just don’t have any clue what it is.

Yeah. I don’t know. I think about that all the time. Yeah. You know, and you try to like live in your moments, but at the same time I said, things get revealed in the order that they’re supposed to be revealed to you. Mm-hmm. And so from this standpoint, going through this with Bruce, finding some forgiveness in your heart.

Letting go of the anger possibly that you had Yeah. Is gonna [00:19:00] open you up. Yeah. To possibilities. Yeah. In your life. I’ve let go of the anger. Yeah. Because it’s not good to hold onto it. I’ve probably let go of it. A long, long time ago. I. What I mostly feel is sadness for what could have been, like, we could have stayed together if he, we had, we went to counseling and stuff, but just if we could have worked it out, that’s, I feel sadness, but mm-hmm.

I think it’s enabling me, like everything that I’ve been through in my life, like what I went through with my son as, uh, an alcoholic, you know, doing drugs and stuff. I’m able to relate to people that are going through that now and then. Just having Bruce pass away, I’m able to relate. You know, you can’t really relate, like I couldn’t relate to somebody who had a dog die until my dog died.

Right. And it’s the worst thing ever. Yeah. Uhhuh, I think having a, I don’t know if I would say it’s worse to have a dog die than a human, because you can’t really, I couldn’t really talk to my Yeah. Dog like I can to a human. I don’t know. It just seemed, it was really hard. And when Pearl Pearl’s sitting here, she’s always with me when I do my [00:20:00] interviews.

She’s great. She and I are so connected. She immediately, I mean, gave me the little wolf. Yeah. And then once she discovered I was nice. Then next thing I know, she’s wanting to get up in my lap. Yeah. So yeah, she’s great dog. She is a good dog. So, and then you got the full pull last night of all the warranties for Sunday dinners.

I know, that was so fun to see Sam and Kate. Yeah. Cause I, I didn’t know Kate very well, but Sam, you know Yeah. Was on the basketball team when Ray and I coached and that was fun. Yeah. And Brie again, they had their engagement party on Saturday, so it was trying to learn how much they knew about each other.

And they had a whiteboard in front of ’em, a little whiteboard, and they were answering and that was Brie’s superpower. She wants to be able to talk to dogs. That’s what her superpower. She really wants to be able, cuz she’s got a cute dog, Hazel and so, but she’s just that really cool. Animal lover and well sat Friday, I went to see a dog communicator.

Mm-hmm. This woman, you can learn it. Apparently she went to school for two years and [00:21:00] she really, it’s not a just a dog communicator. She’s an animal communicator. I like a horse whisperer. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. She talks to horses, she talks to animals, she talks to, um, and one of the, Oh gosh, it was Don’t, well, don’t we all like give off vibes?

Yeah, we do. Yeah. That’d be cool if, you know, she went to class for two Y two school for two years to learn it. Yeah. So I don’t know. I mean, if you think about like FBI people that you know that look at humans and watch their facial expressions and can read them and Yeah. You know, the whole lie detecting kind of things or.

That sort of thing. It’s fascinating, a science to it so it makes sense that they, she could do it with animals. Do you think that people can do it with humans because, okay. I don’t know, but a friend of mine, Jerry connected me with this guy that is in California at a bookstore, and he is, he communicates with spirits, he says, so I called him.

Mm-hmm. And he asked for my full name and then the things that he revealed. I don’t know how he, he doesn’t know Bruce, he [00:22:00] doesn’t know my kids. But the things that he brought up, It was so weird and at the end he said, the person I’m, the spirit I’m talking with is somebody who really loves fishing. That’s Bruce is thinking about a place by the water that you guys stayed.

He died living at a house. On the water is somebody who likes to be behind the scenes, not out in front. Bruce is always behind the scenes. It’s so weird because. He said there was some kind of an attack before he died. What happened? He said, I see his arms like tied up. I said, well, he, both of his arms were paralyzed when he died.

Mm-hmm. And he said, but he’s saying I deserved it. He’s telling me I deserved it because I was raised my hand too much. Like, but he never hit, but maybe it was just an anger thing, you know? Yeah. But it was so weird. He was like, He says, I deserved it. Wow. And then he said, he says, there’s two children coming.

I’m like, my, I said, not with me. Right. I’m 57. No, but my kids, that’s what he said. And [00:23:00] then he said, he doesn’t want you to get too wrapped up in being a grandmother. He wants you to enjoy your life too. And that is something that Bruce would say. And then he said, even he loves you. And even though he wants you to know he never cheated on you, which I know he didn’t.

And then he said he, he also wants you to know he loves you. And that he’s, sorry. Even though he can’t say it, he could just show it, but he couldn’t. He could never say he was sorry. Yeah. And then some of the other things that he shared, it was like, I don’t know if he was communicating with them, but he said he’s around.

He’s been around. So it’s kind of cool. Yeah. I believe in people. Everybody has a different gift. Yeah. That’s his gift to be able to speak to the spirit on the other side. Who of our loved ones. I can’t discount that. I mean, yeah. How do magicians do what they do? How do people, I mean, everybody has a different gift.

Yeah. So, and don’t, you know, or feel like sometimes when you meet somebody, there’s an instant vibe or connection with them mm-hmm. That you just know. Yeah. And some [00:24:00] people are off-putting to you and some people are, you gravitate and there’s a pull to it. And I, like I said, I believe that everybody has that kind of vibe to them that.

We feel. Yeah, automatically. And then he said 2014, I see a journey. Well, I had just finished writing my About Me page for my website. I haven’t published it yet, but 2014 is the year I went to the World Domination Summit, which had me realize there’s a whole nother way of. Living, which helped me decide to retire at age 56.

Yeah. Yeah. That was the journey I started was in 2014. So it’s just, I mean, I, I guess you could put all that together, but it’s just like too many things seemed right on point. Yeah. So that’s, that’s wild. Yeah. Well, I hope Brie becomes an animal communicator. Me too. Because she loves them. Sam doesn’t know what he is in for.

Yeah. And how many pets they’re gonna end up having in their lifetime. So, Like I said, when we built this house, we built floors that were pet friendly. Uhhuh. Yeah. And grand dogs of some sort would come into the house. That was smart. But Ray did say, if [00:25:00] I say dog, say no. He said, cuz it’s like having another child.

Yeah, it is. And he said, we’re grandparents now. And you talked about being grandparents, but we wanna be like part-time, right Parents, they can come and go Sunday for dinner or you know, hey, somebody’s sick, can you watch them for the day while we go to work or whatever. I love that. Right. But being full-time grandparents, I hope it doesn’t come to that for whatever circumstances there are in life, but yeah.

And we’d do it if we had to, but Yeah, I know. Yeah. So it’s fun being part-time grandparents, as you could see. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. And I make them do what my grandfather did with me, which is, you better greet me when you come in the door and you better say goodbye and hug me on when you leave Uhhuh, because there’s, you never know, so.

Right, right, right. But yeah, my grandfather, I could walk around the whole house and he’d finally walk up and he’d say, you haven’t. Greeted me today, uhoh. I was like, oh crap. I went that way into the kitchen cuz I could smell something cooking. So yeah. Again, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

Emotionally today, you know, as a real estate agent, typically we would [00:26:00] go to closing. Mm-hmm. And I would be in the room with you. But Covid 19 has put that mm-hmm. To rest for all agents. We’re no longer allowed to do that. Certainly if you need me to. Uh, sit out in the car with Pearl. I’ll be happy to do that.

But truthfully, I missed that part of the real estate journey. Yeah. Because it is a journey when you meet somebody and you put their home through photography and helping clean out and seeing what you’re going through. Right. And just being able to witness all of that and to be a part of that is a privilege that I think of in regards to me and being helpful and then being able to, Culminate at the closing table is something that I really enjoyed.

Yeah. And now you can’t, COVID has taken that away from me and from other agents and so I’m either well, other appointments or parking lot. Yeah. Or wherever I gotta be. I gotta be. So, but well, you made the whole experience, uh, more pleasant and Thank you. You, you know, just you were really organized and I.

Really appreciated the way you took care of, [00:27:00] uh, helping us get the house cleaned up and ready to go. Mm-hmm. And I’m not gonna go see it as cleaned up as it is and everything, but I’ve seen the pictures and it looks perfect and yeah. You know, all the repairs that needed to be done were done. And the way you guys did it with.

Let’s get an inspection. Let’s just take care of all the inspection stuff up front. And that really helped too. Yeah. And then the, when the buyer gets an inspection, we kind of have most everything taken care of, taken care of. Yeah. So, and that kind of stuff is so helpful. But again, sometimes it’s hard.

It’s just hard. You’re in Virginia. Yeah. You know, Will’s up the road Right. And is in Denver. Right. Um, So for me, you know, I would go check on the house, have fun today. I will go because I’m gonna remove the lockbox that’s on the fence and take my sign out of the yard. But I will do one more walkthrough.

Okay. And, um, the, I already received the walkthrough statement from the buyers, so they’ve already walked through and they’re fine and happy with buying the house, so they’re excited. Mm-hmm. So today just be about that. I’ll deliver the key to [00:28:00] the title company and then I’ll walk away, but, Our friendship won’t be done.

Nope. I’ll still be listening to you on the Onward podcast stuff on Facebook. Join the Onward Movement stuff when you have it, if I can. Yeah. Um, sometimes it’s scheduling appointments and stuff. Yeah, I understand. Um, and you’re welcome back here anytime Pearl, if you come back to Maryland for things. So thank you so much.

Love to have you. Thank you, Helen. You’re welcome. Thank you Helen for interviewing me, and thank you for letting me and my doggy Pearl stay at your house on Sunday night. I really enjoyed seeing your children and just catching up. So as I wrap this episode up, I just want everybody to remember how precious life is.

Sometimes we’re just going so fast and with covid and the fires and everything that’s going on, we can just get caught up and sometimes just forget to just sit and be, not be doing. Just sit and be, [00:29:00] meditate. Just be quiet. Quiet your mind. And be thankful that you’re still here on Earth and just check in with yourself and make sure that you’re living your life the way you want to live it.

One of the things that makes me really, really sad is when I go in my study and I look at Bruce’s files that I still have and all of the files that he had about retirement, he was. Oh, uh, I think he was 63 or four when he, he was 64 when he died and he was going to be retiring in the next year or so. He was really planning on retiring and he had, he was always sending me emails with articles about retirement, talking about saving for retirement, planning for retirement.

He had a plan and he didn’t get to live out his plan. As he had hoped, and I just wanna make sure everyone’s listening. Really think about your plan and really make sure you’re living every day the way you want to live your [00:30:00] life. Because life is so precious and it’s so short, and when you go, you don’t take anything with you.

It’s left for your loved ones to look through. To remember you and how you lived your life has been be remembered too. So think about how you wanna be remembered, how do you wanna live your life? And check in with yourself from time to time just to make sure that you’re on the right track. Thank you for listening.

Have a great week everybody.