Rough Weeks and Reminders of What Matters

I'm writing this on a Saturday when I should have had my Thursday blog post up days ago. Some weeks just get away from you, and this has been one of those stretches that tests your patience, your ability to juggle multiple tasks, and ultimately reminds you what really matters.

When Everything Happens at Once

It's been a rough week in both the real estate auction world and personal property auction world. We're stressed and working hard to get everything done, but sometimes life has other plans. Right in the midst of everything, we had pickup day Wednesday at the building – you know how that goes, people coming and going, questions to answer, items to locate.

Then Friday hit, and I saw an email that had gone unanswered. A lady had forgotten an item from an auction. I sent one back asking if she was home – she wasn't, she was in Marion. I told her not to tell anyone, but I'd try to drop it off on my way to Benton when I was showing a church we're auctioning.

I was getting ready to leave, giving myself plenty of time to drop off the item in Marion, pick up a check in Benton, then show the church outside of Benton. That's when Alex needed a ride to Coad to pick up his truck. Then I got a text asking where everyone was. I texted back that I'd be right back.

Here's the thing – Alex had left the door wide open to the building. I wasn't gone that long, but it was just enough time for someone to show up wanting to pick up items from our last two auctions, and someone else consigning a boat for an upcoming auction. The boat guy asked where to put it, so I directed him. I was helping the pickup guy get his items, and I realized I also needed to write a check for a consignor – turns out the pickup guy was also a consignor, and I didn't have that ready.

Thank goodness Jay showed up when he did. I was finally able to leave.

The Great Roundabout Adventure

I dropped off the item in Marion as promised, but had to skip picking up the check in Benton – time was getting tight. The traffic was absolutely terrible too, being Memorial Day weekend and all. People were not nice driving on Friday – everyone seemed to be in a rush or just plain aggressive.

I took the West Frankfort exit, which has new roundabouts that I've navigated before, but with less traffic and certainly less attitude from other drivers. Well, let me tell you about those roundabouts with Memorial Day weekend traffic. I went up on the curb and into the other lane on the first one, then couldn't get in the right lane at the second one because nobody was letting anyone merge. The road loops back to the first roundabout, so I went around that one again. Finally, I was able to get into the right lane and continue to my destination.

I arrived exactly one minute late and laughed, telling them it was the roundabouts' fault. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself, especially when dealing with holiday weekend drivers.

Life on the Road

Speaking of Alex's schedule – coordinating with someone who travels constantly is always an adventure. He leaves for Atlanta on Monday, works Tuesday, flies Atlanta to Dallas. Fun thing to say Alex does Dallas on Wednesday. Then after the auction he flies to St. Louis and drives home, only to get up early Thursday and drive to Granite City for another auto auction. Sometimes he's working, sometimes he's on a plane, and the schedule varies. We make it work, but it adds another layer of complexity to busy weeks.

Memorial Day Weekend Perspective

This morning I showed a house, and I'll admit I was getting cranky about other drivers. It's Memorial Day weekend – some people are in a rush, others are crawling along. I was almost back to Anna when I saw a US flag flying and had to take a picture. (Don't worry, I waited until the other car passed – probably shouldn't be taking photos at 61 mph, but that flag had a calming effect.)

That flag reminded me to step back and breathe. We all handle stress differently, and sometimes we need those visual reminders of what's really important.

A Child's Wisdom

Then I went to Kroger and met a little boy in the checkout line who completely turned my day around. He was excited about his Halloween costume – wanted to dress up as some female character I couldn't quite understand. When he spotted a Cracker Barrel gift card, he lit up talking about their pancakes and syrup. I agreed – great choice.

He asked what I was going to be for Halloween. After thinking a moment, I said "the scariest thing in the world – an adult." He gave me this disbelieving look: "That's not scary." I suggested MJ (he was wearing a Spider-Man shirt), but he didn't know who that was. Madame Web? Nope. What Spider-Man has this kid been watching?

When I finally said I'd be Spider-Man, he protested: "You can't be that, you're a girl." His mom reminded him he wanted to be a girl character, and he said that was different. I chuckled and suggested Cinderella instead. "Or you could be Snow White," he offered. True – my dark hair is definitely more Snow White than Cinderella.

As they headed for the door, he yanked his hand from his mom's, turned around, and yelled, "BYE EVERYONE! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!" We all laughed. His mom looked mortified and tried to grab his hand, but I could see his face starting to fall, so I yelled back, "BYE! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!" and waved. That put the smile right back where it belonged.

He made my day and my weekend with that small interaction. I wanted to walk out and tell everyone bye too. (I didn't – they were calling after me because I'd bought two things and left one behind.)

What Really Matters

That little boy and that flag flying definitely restored my faith in humanity. Sometimes rough weeks are just that – rough weeks full of juggling multiple tasks, dealing with logistics, and navigating new roundabouts. But they're also reminders that there are still good people, innocent joy, and simple moments that matter more than all the stress about schedules and forgotten items and wide-open doors.

We'll get through the complicated stuff because that's what we do in this business. But we'll remember the little boy who reminded a whole grocery store to have a great weekend, and we'll be better for it.

Here's to hoping your weekend is wonderful too.

Happy Bidding!
Kara C. Belcher-Miller
Auctioneer