Sticks and Stones Don't Make Homes

Beginnings are often Scary and Endings are often Sad.

There have been some very sad endings lately such as the foreclosure situation facing this country and the terrible flooding in the Midwest. Both of which will take a long recovery time. New Orleans is proof of the later. As I have mentioned before our other family business is in Antiques which provides the opportunity to travel. I remember traveling through New Orleans a short time after that flood and I could not believe what I saw. There were neighborhoods empty. When I say empty I mean not a person, a car, a bus, or an animal. It was spooky to say the least. As for the Midwest my heart goes out to the people and their communities. They are just beginning however, their coming together demonstrates the value of home ownership, business ownership, and just plain American Pride. If you haven't seen the photos yet check them out on Yahoo. People don't come together and work so hard if there isn't something to save. It was everyone young, old, children, national guards fighting hard to save what they have worked so hard to achieve. Their faces tell the story.

For those of you facing foreclosure the heartache is the same. The sudden loss of what you worked so hard to achieve. There is help out there so don't ignore the situation. Contact your lenders, review your budgets and do what is best for you long term. You are not alone. We are all closer than we would like to believe.

So to the point. Home ownership to me is the pot of coffee on your porch or deck on a hot Sunday morning reading the newspaper after an eighty hour work week. The freshly painted room that your three year old saw as great blank canvas to display their art work. The lawn in the summer that always needs to be cut and the snow in the winter that always needs to be shoveled. The senior graduation and prom pictures in your living room. The cook outs, birthdays, weddings, celebrations. The memories that nobody can take away. It doesn't matter what the property looks like in the beginning or where you live. It is the families and people that make it a home. It is still your best investment. Not everyone is the same (wouldn't the world be boring if we were) so if you want blue ceilings, brick siding it's your choice, your dream, your home. Don't give up the fight for your right to home ownership.

Sticks and Stones don't make Homes Families and People Do!