When I moved to Hershey 10 years ago, it was under duress; we had lived happily in Tennessee for 17 years and never planned to move. But our job situation, as many of yours, changed during the "great recession." For us, that meant moving to Pennsylvania. We had leveraged our home to buy a small business a few years earlier. Now, the housing market was down, our equity gone. Investments? Tanked.

After being homeowners for 16 years, we moved into a rental house in Hershey. It was small and old. Our chipper first-grader, after walking through for the first time, asked excitedly, "Where's the rest of the house?"

I spent several weeks on the verge of tears, feeling sorry for myself and lonely. What happened to my old life? Our nice home? Our "roots?"

One afternoon, I complained to my mother in California about my small, old, rental home, what I'd left behind, and where I was in life. A real Woe-Is-Me rant.

Mom paused a long pause then asked, "Eileen, do you know how many homeless people live in Eureka, alone, who would give anything for what you have? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have food to eat? Are you warm at night? Then what are you really complaining about?

I started this column 21 months ago with these words: "Real estate news affects all of us with a roof over our head – whether the roof is owned, rented, mortgaged, large, small, or just plain leaky!

I've lived in them all. Thankfully. Truth is, if you're reading this in the comfort of a warm, dry shelter, claimed by you, somewhere in Sun Country, you're among the luckiest in the world.

In 2010, I learned three things:

– It's much easier to clean a small home than a large home.

– An unfinished basement and a throw rug make an excellent bedroom.

– Somehow, our family had landed in an extraordinary place, with warm, loving people and an incredible legacy.

Dieter Uchtdorf said, "We can choose to be grateful, no matter what. This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement and despair."

I'm grateful for you, the folks of Sun Country, who welcomed me with open arms at a rough time. I'm grateful for a mother who sees the big picture. And I'm grateful that perspective is fluid and shiftable and a game-changer.

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa this month, may you find the space sometime soon to reflect. And value. And thank.

P.S. The housing market is still going strong...I'll report in January on how the year wrapped up. Until then, drink more eggnog and enjoy the snow!

Eileen Voyles is a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty in Hershey. She can be reached at 717-508-4610 or evoyles@homesale.com.

https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/the-real-scene-22/