Chalk and Cheese

Haydn and I had put plans in place to do an exercise. Given that I am currently not driving and, at times, wonder if things will ever change, we decided to look at real estate elsewhere.

Haydn called the local real estate agent for an appraisal. Armed with the knowledge that the farm was worth $???? he had thought that maybe the farm could be sold if, in fact, he could purchase another property closer to a township offering us more services than we have here. The problem with living where we live is the isolation for me closely combined with lack of services.

6 kilometres to our north we have the village of Gresford which has a general store, post office and pub. We are blessed to have a coffee shop at the moment but, not sure how long it will last as it has opened and closed 3 times in the 2 years we have lived here. 6 kilometres to the south we have the village of Vacy with nothing more than a general store and pub.

Maybe we could stumble on a great property closer to services. We are 30 minutes from the regional centre of Maitland and just over 1 hour from medical services, including the Calvery Mater hospital at which I have my cancer treatments.

We set off yesterday to meet with real estate agent number 1 in the township of Clarencetown. He suggested we drive to the property and he quickly jumped into the back seat thereby saving his own fuel. We turned off the sealed road and, as we made our way along a winding dirt road with lots of water filled pot holes, Haydn asked if this was the property. He was rudely told 'No. Keep going!' Shortly Haydn asked again if we were on the land that was for sale as he could tell that it was not good farming country. I was then told that my husband was a hard marker...too severe. How could I then admit that I had absolutely no interest in going further as we were even more isolated than we are now. This rude man was persistent and so we kept going. When we were discussing the benefits of living in our north facing home we were told we should not be making comparisons. I ask 'How then do we make the decision about value for money?' Silly me! Cannot remember exactly what was said but I remember how I felt. Could not wait to get this man out of our vehicle as I felt him grate like chalk on a blackboard.

We then met with real estate agent number 2 in the township of Dungog. Haydn explained the situation and the reason for our enquiry. After discussion about the place we had sought information on, he suggested that it would be perfect for me but not suitable for Haydn the farmer.

As we walked to the front door I was surprised to find this delightful man put one arm around me, while taking my other hand in his. He expressed his delight at meeting me while encouraging me to take special care of myself. I could feel the shift in energy levels as he walked with us to the footpath. He continued to encourage me with his carefully chosen words. Before long he was shedding a tear. As we hugged, I asked him to talk to me about what was happening. It turned out that his Mother had passed 3 years previously. He walked with us to the Pajero all the while discussing the situation and the rise in the incidence of cancer.

I felt deeply touched by the experience and could not help drawing a comparison between the two agents. Definitely chalk and cheese!

Later in the afternoon I received an email in which he suggested that he had no idea what had happened as that was not his usual style. He had realised however, that he did need to spend more time with his Dad giving them both the opportunity to heal while learning to live without their much loved Wife, Mother and Grandmother.

In the meantime we are no closer to solving the dilemma of whether or not a move would work for us...