By Jené DeSpain, September 19, 2020
The recent smoke filled air and fires sweeping many regions around us have had a notable impact on many this late Summer season. Home has never quite felt so fragile, so challenging, so unstable, so threatened as endless members of our communities face the realities of eviction, foreclosure, and the horrible loss of their homes to the fires. As we all are finding ourselves reeling from the toxic smoke and shuttering inside our homes, I have been avidly dedicated to leaping through every raised hoop to ensure my client Camilla would close on her house this week. Each day bringing new road blocks, I refused to relinquish my determination to overcome the obstacles presented by the smoke and fires. Every member of our local lending, underwriting, and escrow team was forced to either evacuate or had a stay at home/out of the office requirement. Things were looking dark.
I saw some posts from friends on social media that simmering herbs in large pots of water was an excellent way to combat the health impacts from the smoke. I clipped fresh cedar, lavender, rosemary, and sage from my home garden and immediately felt my headache slip away as their soothing scent wafted throughout my home. I breathed in deep and got right back to task. All of the steadfast action paid off and Camilla signed closing documents that came in by the skin of our teeth from underwriting to lender to escrow. While I had selected a custom gift to be made for her weeks earlier, I decided to add to her bounty and create a bouquet of the herbs to help her have a similar smoke free haven at her new house while she moved in over the weekend.
As I was creating her bundle, I decided to go ahead and make one for each of my clients who I had the joy of working with this last year. Everyone deserves to breathe a little easier these days. 32 bundles and 6 hours later, I set out a map across each section of the city, guiding myself to all the homes I had the delight of having transactions with lately. With social distancing in mind, I quietly delivered the herbal bouquets and a hand written card to their front porches and doorsteps, surprising my clients with a text to share the news of their respiratory relief package. Receiving the loving responses and texted photos of kitchen stoves steaming with soothing smells has been as nourishing to my week as my own simmering pot at home.
Congratulations Camilla! It has been a rewarding journey, and I’m honored to have traveled the road to Alberta District success with you. ♥︎
