One Person’s Value Does Not Equal Another’s

Blog from Tracy Butz of Think Impact Solutions 

As my closest family and friends know, my husband and I (and our dog, Snickers, too!) are soon relocating to Denver, Colorado. We are super excited about the new adventure, with a lot of nervous feelings surrounding that, of course. This move represents the first time I will be living in another state other than Wisconsin. Cheeseland…is there anything better? I guess I will soon find out. My husband was awarded a fabulous promotion, which he most certainly deserves. His new role will allow him the opportunity to capitalize on his strengths and truly make a difference each and every day…even more than he does today as an EMS helicopter pilot. In his new role, he is responsible for training the pilots and ensuring they are equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to keep them, their crews and patients safe. As for me, I will finally be in a city that has an airport with a major hub. Instead of Delta, United Airlines will now be my go-to choice.

As we are navigating through the daunting process of moving, I have learned that a cross-country relocation is extremely expensive. Wow! And so is the cost of housing in Denver. Yikes! But on the plus side, our new home that is currently being built and will be ready for us in mid-late October, is in a gorgeous suburb of Denver, called Thornton. It is close to everything, but far enough away to be quiet and quaint. Seeing the mountains is breath-taking.

But aside from the mixed feelings of overwhelming and exuberance, I’ve also recently learned that what one person extremely values, another may not.

As you likely realize, we have put our house up for sale and for our first open house we had 10 different families come through. This was an unexpected and outstanding turnout! Yet, still no offers. Our realtor is amazing and sold our last home in less than 24 hours. I can’t say we went into this endeavor with the same expectations, but we are on week three and wondering why there hasn’t been at least one offer so far. Ridiculous…I know.

I keep trying to remind myself that even though we LOVE our current home and think everyone else should too, I realize that it is not the home for everyone…but perhaps most? No. Some. It’s difficult and disheartening to know that those who sauntered through our home didn’t immediately want to buy it like we did, just three years ago. In fact, we purchased it as it was being built and got to watch the process day-by-day of the amazing transformation. I guess my frustration is more about why others wouldn’t see a similar value in our home—to have a similar attraction to buy, protect and care for it in a similar way—but after seeing it, simply dismiss it.

I realized over the course of several days that I needed to not take the selling of our home so personally. Yet, that is easier said than done. I’ve come to the conclusion that even though the eventual buyers of our home may not value it the same as we do, they likely will have a similar affinity for it—which may be less or perhaps, even more.

The unknown in everything we are currently facing is uncomfortable, but exciting. It is a reminder to me to value everyone and everything I have in my life, because gratitude is the best gift of all. Without it, treasured relationships and valued items are just things. And what a shame it would be if that is how we remembered them.

Thanks to all of those special people in our lives. It is because of you that we have the strength to face this new endeavor before us. We will not forget you. In fact, we hope we continue our relationships, wherever they may lead us.