Barbara J. Hamby

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Decisions, Decisions

It’s probable that I’ve talked before on this venue about the fact that we face important parts of our lives with little or no preparation. Right now, we are in the middle of negotiations regarding the sale of the manufactured home we’re living in. Tonight, I feel as if I’m buying a used car, rather than selling a home.

We have received an offer for the full asking price, but with untenable conditions. I have decided to sleep on it before making a definite decision to reject it or make a counter-offer. Since we only have three days before we leave on our trip, we’re in a bind for time. It’s my hope that a good night’s sleep will clear my head enough to negotiate better. Al has given me helpful suggestions about how to proceed.

When I went to school, I was not aware of any classes on negotiating, mediating, marriage preparation, or child rearing. Some prior knowledge of those parts of adult life would certainly have been of great assistance.

I have managed to muddle through many of those life situations with varying degrees of success. Some areas were dismal failures, but I survived. As we age, I’m hoping there will be less and less need of skills that tax my ingenuity and sap my energy. And so to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream or, even better, make a decision.