Success From Anywhere

 

“Trust that little voice inside your head that says, ‘Wouldn't it be interesting if…?’ And then: Do it.”

—Duane Michals, American photographer

Dee makes everything effortless.

Impeccably dressed even for a grocery store run, my friend Dee brings undeniable class to everything she touches. Especially her home. She's the only person I know who can truly pull off white carpet in her house.

“I was outside doing some work on the landscaping,” she tells me. I'm sitting in the passenger seat in her BMW convertible. Dee's hand is resting on top of the steering wheel, where a beautiful gold ring with a single shining pearl sits atop one of her manicured fingers. At a stoplight, she turns to me and says, “I was thinking of selling my place. That's when I found something that really scared me.”

Her house was important to her. Dee raised her two daughters as a single mother in that house. Now it was time for a change. Like most people looking to sell, Dee wanted to make sure that she had everything in order. Somehow I could tell that it wasn't.

My friend looked over at me. She said she was putting the finishing touches on thousands of dollars’ worth of landscaping work. A realtor herself, Dee knows the importance of curb appeal. Old trees were trimmed, new trees were planted. Bushes, too. Tulips. Hydrangeas. An elaborate array of springtime flowers surrounded the front porch and patio. ...