But You Can’t Take It with You
September 6, 2019
When Helpers Can’t Help
April 2, 2020
I was living in Gainesville and working at UF when I learned about the National Association of Senior Move Management and the field of senior move management. A colleague at the University shared the success story of her aunt who had used a senor move manger in Atlanta and had an amazing experience. The team who moved her had compassionately and competently sorted with her, packed her belongings, then unpacked her and settled her into her new space. She was thrilled.
After researching the field, I met with an established senior move manager in St. Pete. She is a dear friend today; however, our initial breakfast meeting was unsettling. She explained that although the work was satisfying, it was not particularly lucrative. The words she used to describe the journey I was about to begin was a “calling.”
I had followed my heart throughout my career and it had led me down a path where compensation was commensurate with experience. With my children grown and happily settled, I was finally at a stage of life where I could work hard and save for retirement. But I was being called down a different path. I am a faithful person and believe that when you ask for advice, if you listen, the answer will be clear. I asked and the response was crystal clear. Senior move management was what I was being led to do.
Recently, we moved a man who was in the final stages of lung cancer. He wanted to move and do it quick. Our team did the job with grace and kindness. He was grateful.
We cleared out the home of a customer we had moved twice in the past year and who had recently passed away. Her son called our team “Angels. Every one of them. “
Last month, I heard a speaker who is a music therapist for hospice patients. He spoke about what a privilege it is to serve people at the end of their lives. I feel this way frequently and profoundly.
Many of those we serve have no one to help them. They need to move and they need a kind heart and a gentle hand to help them through the process.
I am rewarded every day with words of appreciation, gratitude and joy from those we serve and their family members. And the team members who I am fortunate enough to employ and who serve our customers are among the hardest working and compassionate people I have known. I couldn’t be prouder of them. Am I getting rich doing this work? I am not but I am definitely rich in spirit.
Every day I meet someone who has lived an interesting life and needs our helping hands. We are not always hired by those with whom we meet but I never feel like a consultation is a waste of my time. Sometimes, the customer doesn’t actually need what we provide but I can connect her with a mover, an antique dealer, an estate sale professional or a realtor. I am glad to be that resource. In the meantime, my world has been expanded and I have made a connection and made a difference. Abundant Blessings.