And, The Mother of the Year Award Goes To...

I got a call from Brenda on Monday morning. She had my Arizona cell number. The reason for her call was she heard I was the "lady who had lots of houses for rent." If I hadn't been in mental vacation mode I might have asked her where she got my number, but alas, I was ready to bake cookies and deck the halls.

Brenda, it seems, needs a place by mid-February. And, did I happen to have one available? She said she is having the darnest time finding a landlord who has a home available.

I pointed out that most landlords would prefer not to have a vacant home available two months from the time someone calls. Keeping a home vacant two months isn't good business. She didn't fully grasp this, and I didn't direct her to this blog either.

What I did do is chat with her for a bit. After all, I have a few homes that could be vacant with a bit of notice. Two in particular: Ms. Kathy's and Ms. Shirley's. So, depending upon where Brenda wanted to live, I might be easily able to accommodate her.

It turns out Brenda's conundrum really isn't location as much as it is basic economics. It seems dear, naive Brenda only has a modest sum to spend. Though I might be able to work with her budget, I needed a few things settled first.

"Who all would be living with you?" I asked.

"Just my son and I," she innocently replied.

I can work with this. Even if her budget was a bit more modest than I care for. However, Brenda it seems has a bit of a sense of humor. I asked, "Any pets?"

Brenda laughed. "Just my daughter and her three kids. But they will all share a room. I made that clear to them."

Perhaps the rest of you aren't in mental vacation mode and figured this out faster than I did. But, I did finally decipher what she meant before we parted ways. And, I wasn't as amused as she was by her little joke.

Nope, turns out I don't have anything available.