We have a showing of the house this afternoon, and it took plenty of time to clean it last night. Because we've gone almost 3 weeks with nobody looking at it, we really let our guard down on keeping the place spotless. Okay, keeping it clean. Okay, keeping it so that you can see the floor.

But, seriously, I've started cooking again - I made a roast last night. If we'd gotten one of those last minute phone calls last night we'd have had to set extra places, just to be polite.

At the job-in-a-box, we have a very nice gentleman who was trying to sell his house down in Pasadena. This guy is a real class act, who never loses his temper. Because the housing market had been so hot, he put a contract on a house before he sold his, because he was afraid that if he did it the other way, he would have to vacate his home before he found another one. And he was looking to make a very specific move - looking for a particular kind of house in a narrow location. Then, his house did not sell right away.

He never became unkind, or even unpleasant, but I noticed that he became more and more quiet, his answers shorter, his shoulders tenser with each passing day. Finally, one day he came out to the dispatch area and said he had a showing and that his wife was cross because he couldn't get away from the job to take their good natured but enthusiatic dog out.

"Oh, it won't matter. They'll love it." I said, just to have something posative to say.

But then I spun around in the chair to look at him and was overcome by the sure feeling that it was true - that the people he was showing the house to would put a contract on it. "They'd better love it." he said a little wryly, "if we don't get a contract tonight we'll lose the house I spent so long looking for. It's the end of our contingency clause."

"Oh, but the Holy Spirit loves to do things just that way!" I replied, "Really, they're there to buy your house. They'll love it. All you have to do is visualize that sold sign out in front. And, while you're at it, visualize one in front of mine too!"

He came back in the next day, giving me that look between suspicion and respect, which always makes me wish I'd kept my mouth closed.
"D'ja sell your house?" I asked, casually.

"You know we did. The realtor didn't tell us this was the second time these people were looking at it. They put a contract in last night. Our realtor almost couldn't believe it."

She must not be a very experienced realtor, because stuff like that happens all the time. "So are you visualizing that sold sign in front of mine, now?"

"Absolutely!"

I wish I had such an overwhelming good feeling about the people who are coming to see our house this afternoon. But, at least the floors are clean, the bathroom is clean and the drain is unclogged in there. The garbage disposal works, and the place doesn't smell weird.

Maybe I have a slight good feeling about it. "Sold" is such a lovely word.