FRANCESCA SLOCOMBE, REALTOR®
I almost left Real Estate
4 years ago my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and my world seemed to freeze. It’s strange in hindsight because I didn’t lean on my mom much leading up to her diagnosis. In fact, now I realize that those earlier years she was pulling back and being more reclusive because of her disease…and it often hurt me. She didn’t throw me a baby shower. She didn’t babysit my first born and I never asked with the second.
Still her diagnosis sparked a pain in me that only being with her seemed to ease. While my husband was hesitant, he supported my wish to pull back for 6 months to go and try to help my parents daily and fix my mom through strict dieting. Well, my dad wasn’t happy with me forcing their diet and it seemed to be just adding stress. I tried it for a few months and seemed to be spinning my wheels.
Then I got a call. This woman wanted me to see her dad's house as they needed to sell. Saying, “No I’m sorry I can’t”, was such a new situation for me that I sort of blathered out my mom’s circumstances. She happened to be a nurse and was very sympathetic, but she gave me such amazing advice. She insisted that work was too important to set aside especially during a parents’ later years and especially if they weren’t receptive to it. She convinced me just to meet with her and her sister as they hadn’t met anyone that felt like a good fit. I don’t know why a stranger at the time made such an impact, but I went and my Realtor brain just took over. I put my plan in motion the next week and it felt great! It was the healthiest release for me to focus on something I was great at and appreciated for.