WRITTEN BY ERICA BAHAM, BUYER’S AGENT EXTRAORDINAIRE FOR DOMO REALTY

At last, I’ve found love again.

After years of wandering and reaching, after over a decade of flailing my arms and stumbling in the dark, love has emerged out of a murky fog to fill me.

I found love in doing something that allows me to make a difference in people’s lives. I found meaning in the service of other human beings and my community. And no, I’m not a doctor. I’m not police. I’m a real estate agent.

Before you roll your eyes and stop reading, give me a minute. Let me explain.

The other day, I was driving by a recent client’s new home, the one I helped them find and buy. The husband in the couple, David, a man in his mid-thirties, was out on the front lawn, diligently digging a hole to plant the young cherry tree lying on the ground next to it.

I pulled up, said, “Hi.” and hopped out of the car. David explained that they were planting the tree in honor of the birth of their son, Winter. He went on to tell the story of his son’s birth and their lives since I’d sold them their home. Jane emerged from the home with the baby in a stroller.

While David and Jane recanted the details of Winter’s birth, the exciting renovation of their home, and an unexpected increase in business at work, I kept peering over to see their adorable little miracle wiggling restlessly in his blanket, his grunts and cries punctuating their energetic speech and giving testimony to the joys of life that make it worth living.

There they were. A proud and happy new family standing in front of a home that they were laboring to make their own, a home that would play an integral part in their lives and that they, no doubt, would cherish for years to come. They were building their dream.

An unfamiliar warmth filled my stomach and spread through my chest. I started to breathe quickly and deeply, the way you do when something new and unexpected moves you in way you never thought you could be moved.

That warmth was joy. It was satisfaction. It was pride in a job well done.

In the eyes of some, all I did was help David and Jane find and buy some wood and brick on a piece of land. But homes are more than that. They are the places we live our lives. And as corny and strange as it might sound, I felt honored that I could help them build their dream.