Around the globe this was a very unusual year, and most of us are looking forward to a fresh start in 2021! For us personally, while normally every Christmas season I particularly love participating in Victoria’s annual Handel’s Messiah Sing-A-Long concert and Gary enjoys singing in the Victoria Freedom Gospel Choir, this year we’ll be content with singing together to YouTube music from our cozy home. Likewise we’ll miss the very special dress-up dances with our ballroom dance group friends, but we’ll connect with some of them from our warm condo home, via Zoom of course! And while we’ll really miss having Gary’s adult children join us here for a big turkey dinner, we (and our 19-year old tuxedo cat) are looking forward to a lovely, peaceful celebration at home with just my dear Mum joining us overnight (she’s a member of our ‘bubble’). Tonight we’ll still put up our balcony lights, tree and favourite decorations and make our home as sparkly and inviting as possible.
We can all relate to choosing daily to accept the current temporary reality, consistently doing what is right to keep others and ourselves safe, and in the midst of each day’s gloomy news reports, to be very thankful for all that we have and the many good things that have happened in our lives this year. Just as we stay in touch via Facebook with dear far-off friends who we haven’t seen in decades but who we will always care about, we can still stay close and be a support to our local friends via a phone call or email, until we can finally meet in person again sometime in 2021.
Writing the above makes me realize afresh how extremely important the home has been in 2020. This is where almost all of us have spent most of our daily 24 hours, every single day since March! Almost everything we’ve done workwise or personally has taken place at home, together with most of our interactions. This also makes me realize how significant my/our work is as Realtors® in the lives of our clients, because we link people up to the home that is right for them for that phase of their life.
This year as I look back personally on my work this year, I see that once again among my wonderful clients were some first-time homebuyers. Helping them learn the process of buying their first condo home, answering their many excellent questions, and seeing their excitement at finally taking possession of their own first home is always a true joy! But I’ve also particularly enjoyed once again this year, helping my senior clients to start their next phase of their lives. Selling a beloved family home and downsizing is a lot of practical work and can be an emotional experience, but the relief of finally having a fresh start in a smaller, uncluttered condo or townhouse, perhaps closer to family members, and being able to leave most of the maintenance tasks to the strata maintenance man is also a joy! I have once again enjoyed every one of my clients this year, and have felt very fulfilled as I have been able to help them with their real estate needs.
This year while Christmas is much less about shopping and events than other years, we can still all choose to focus on the most important aspects of this season. We can find fresh ways, from a safe distance, to express our love for our family members and friends. We can sense joy as we focus on the most important aspects of our lives. In this quieter, less rushed year we have more chance to be reflective and to experience peace. We choose to maintain our hope, that in the midst of much that is deeply sad and concerning, that as a society we will overcome and the future will be better. Pausing and remembering our many blessings brings about a deep sense of thankfulness too—for our loved ones, our health, our abundance of food, our country, our freedom, and for the place that has been at the centre of most of our lives this year especially—our homes!
Together we send you and your families warm greetings as you celebrate in your homes this Christmas season. We also wish you a particularly wonderful year ahead throughout 2021!
Sincerely,
Rosemary and Gary
