Taking it Personally

One characteristic you will never hear used to describe me is "tough skinned." It's just not me. Sure, I try to be laid back. And I am sometimes - about some things. I have fun with life, and I try to see the humor in a bad situation (if you look closely, there is a lot of it). I am self deprecating. But I also take some things personally.

That's not to say "taking it personally" is always the wrong reaction. When my husband and I debate about things, he sometimes throws that "don't take it so personally" argument my way. This will annoy me because what we're talking about is a personal matter. So of course I will take it personally.

But I take it personally where I shouldn't too. Case in point: the sale of our townhouse. My realtor set up this nifty survey that he would send out to each of the showing agents. Sometimes they responded, sometimes they didn't. But I will tell you one thing: I was always disappointed. My favorites were the first two questions, "Did your client like the property? Answer: no;" "Is your client considering a second showing? Answer: no." Makes you feel great, no? No. It made me feel like all of that time I spent remodeling my kitchen, my master bath, installing hardwood floors, and buying new carpet weeks before it went on the market were all for NOTHING!! Never mind that I bought state of the art stainless steel appliances and created a kitchen that is 100 times better than what was there when I moved in, my house was "average." I took this as a reflection on me.

Well, we finally got an offer on the place, and it looks like we are on our way. And that's all great, and I am happy. Not as much as I wanted, but hey - I still come out ahead. But you know what my favorite part of the whole deal was? The buyer wanted me to leave the wall vases in the dining room - vases I picked and installed myself.

She likes my house, she really likes it!!