Channeling my Inner Sima

Nights when I can't fall asleep or sometimes when I just need to decompress, I indulge myself by watching mindless television to pass the time. I've gone through a few shows over the years - The Circle (this was a wonderful trashy one), Survivor (I've watched every season), Grace & Frankie, Crazy Rich Asians, and my latest ~ Indian Matchmaking. Please withhold your judgement at my choices in shows, my husband Jordan already shakes his head at me, but like I said - something mindless and numbing. But I digress....back to Indian Matchmaking. It's a show that follows this woman, a renowned matchmaker in the Indian culture named Sima Taparia, as she is hired by families around the world to find a suitable mate usually for their children. Each episode follows a similar layout and storyline - first we're introduced to the first family and you get their backstory and why they feel the child hasn't found or can't find "the one". Next you meet a second family and get their story. Sometimes the producers might throw in a third or revisit a family from a previous episode, but you get the idea. Once we've met all the characters, Sima (the matchmaker) sends them out on dates with other well matched clients. Quite often the "Unmarried" dater returns to Sima complaining of minor differences and dislikes. Sima sits them down and explains that there isn't a "perfect" spouse. That each and everyone of us comes with bumps, bruises and imperfections. The beauty of a successful marriage is learning to look past the fallibilities, to eventually fall in love with all of the bumps and bruises and having the imperfections help create the perfection that becomes a life-long, dedicated, committed relationship. And as I sit here in the sunshine this morning drinking my coffee and watching my dog lounge, the thought of this mindless show reminds me of how I perceive my job in real estate. I channel my inner Sima - I meet the clients, I get to know your backstory and what you see as "the Perfect House". I scour the countryside to help find that perfect home, and somewhere along the way, we sometimes figure out that what you thought was perfection actually wasn't at all. Like the characters in the show, as we "date" different homes our idea of perfection evolves. A woman under Sima's guidance insisted her potential mate have a full head of long, flowing hair - but guess what? She fell in love with a man who didn't have a stitch of hair on his head! Or a man who insisted on a Sanskrit speaking wife ~ who, once set on a date, decided it really wasn't ideal as he could hardly speak the language himself. I'm learning more and more that client expectations change and evolve as we proceed along in the buying process and sometimes it's the homes with those crazy imperfections in which I didn't even realize were a contender, that capture the hearts of my Buyers. And just when I think I have it figured out - we pivot and change! And that my friends....is Real Estate. No two days are ever the same and for someone like myself who likes pivoting and changing, Real Estate provides all of the bumps and bruises (literally ~ some days) to make a happy marriage.