A year-end reflection on trust, long-term relationships, and guiding people through real estate transitions in Western Massachusetts and Northwest Connecticut.
When people ask me about my year in real estate, they often expect numbers. Sales. Market conditions. Wins and challenges. Bragging about awards.
But when I look back on 2025, what stays with me are the people — and the moments that unfolded slowly, quietly, and sometimes unexpectedly.
While I have many stories that happened in the last year, I would like to share three that give a well-rounded picture of my work.
Story 1: The Woman Who Cried
One of the moments from 2025 that stays with me didn’t happen on a closing day, but rather over the course of a year.
I met a woman who had owned her home for decades — the kind of home where children are raised, routines are built, and life unfolds room by room. She knew, long before she called me, that she would eventually need to let it go. Not because she wanted to — but because she understood, on some deep level, that holding on wasn’t serving her anymore.
We didn’t rush.
In fact, we worked together for more than a year before her house ever went on the market.
I gave her a list — not as pressure, but as a path. Title V. Cleaning. Removing items. Painting. Replacing some flooring. One step at a time. She took each step when she was ready. Sometimes slowly. Sometimes tearfully. In her own time, as she was able to handle things.
The house was a lovely old farmhouse in Westfield, and every time I walked through the door, she cried. Every visit. Every conversation. Every decision.
And every meeting — even the hard ones — ended with a hug.
This wasn’t about square footage or pricing strategy. It was about right-sizing and about starting over in midlife, when you already know enough to understand that change can be both necessary and heartbreaking at the same time.
When we finally sold the house, what surprised her most wasn’t the outcome — it was the relief.
She thanked me over and over for being patient and kind. I told her the truth: that patience and kindness aren’t extras in this work. They ARE the work, and it is work I am happy to do.
Helping someone through a transition like that isn’t about pushing them forward. It’s about walking alongside them until they’re ready to take the next step on their own.
And when she was ready, she was able to make that move with peace and clarity.
Story 2: The High School Friends & the Day Everything Went Sideways
Another thing that stood out to me in 2025 was just how much of my work came from people who have known me for a very long time.
High school friends.
Dance families.
People who have watched me grow up — and who I’ve watched grow up, too.
One of those connections goes back to high school.
Two friends from high school were chatting years ago. One of them needed to sell a house and was discussing it with the other friend. One of them follows me on social media. He reads my blog posts. He pays attention to how I show up and how I talk about my work.
The other doesn’t do social media at all.
When it came time for that friend to sell his house, the one who was paying attention told him, “You should trust her.”
And he did.
I sold that house in a market that wasn’t particularly forgiving. It wasn’t flashy — but it worked. And what followed was something I never take for granted.
That friend who recommended me based on my social media marketing kept coming back.
First, he asked if I could help his son buy a home. Then his mom. Then his other son.
Each time felt like an honor — the kind of trust that isn’t transactional. The kind that says, I know who you are when things get complicated.
This year, one of those transactions tested that trust in real time.
Everything was going smoothly right up until the final walkthrough. At first, it seemed minor. We noticed some cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink, and the buyer shrugged it off. He said he could deal with that.
But as we kept walking, it became clear this wasn’t just a few forgotten items. The house was full of things that shouldn’t have been there — and he was supposed to move in that same day.
That’s when it shifted from inconvenience to urgency.
I called the listing agent, who showed up immediately. She got the sellers there just as fast. Together, we started clearing the house — pulling things out, making piles, figuring out what had to go.
I got on the phone and called every junk-removal company in the area until I found one that could come that day. I also made sure the sellers — who never should have left the house that way — paid for the removal.
By the end of the day, the buyer moved in as planned.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, I realized I was hauling junk in ninety-degree heat, wearing a dress. I wish I could say that was the first time I had to do that, but that would be a lie.
All in a day’s work. The end goal of this young first-time buyer, being able to move into his new home on time, was accomplished. I went home feeling proud and happy, and then I took a shower.
Story 3: The Dancer Who Grew Up
I trained this dancer for years when she was young.
Dance has a way of creating long arcs — you watch someone grow up in pieces. Discipline. Confidence. Independence. Eventually, adulthood.
Years later, she bought her first home on her own and lived there for a long time. Life moved forward. She built a career. She got married.
Then an opportunity came up to purchase a home in her hometown — the kind of chance you don’t want to miss. She wanted to leap at it.
She called me.
I was honored — not just because she trusted me with the transaction, but because that trust had been built quietly, over years. She and her husband bought their new home, and once that was settled, she gave me the opportunity to sell her original home as well.
Both transactions went smoothly. No drama. No scrambling. Just clear communication and mutual respect — the kind that comes from knowing someone for a very long time.
Dance families are just that: families.
Being part of hers, in this next chapter of her life, was a privilege I didn’t take lightly. I am blessed to be able to say that her story is only one of many that my dance family has entrusted me to help with their real estate goals. It is an honor.
Closing Reflection
After decades in this work, what stands out to me most isn’t volume or velocity — it’s trust. The kind that’s built slowly, over time. The kind that shows up in tears, in referrals, in phone calls that come years after a relationship first began. This work has never been about houses alone. It’s about continuity — seeing people through chapters of their lives, not just transactions on a calendar. Homes change. Families grow. Circumstances shift. But trust, once earned, has a way of coming back around. Being invited into those moments — whether for the first time or the fourth — is a privilege I never take for granted, and it’s what made 2025 a year I’ll remember.
I am excited to move into 2026 and discover what stories will unfold to become a part of my book of business memories.
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