Susan Mangigian, Chester County Life

My younger son Max has a rare eye condition called Familial Exudative Vitreous Retinopathy, or FEVR for short.  It is a condition that has something to do with the blood vessels to the retina and 90 percent of people who have the condition never have any symptoms.   When you do have symptoms, however, there is not much the doctors can do about the vision, their main goal being to save the physical eye itself.  Max has this condition in both eyes, with one eye being symptomatic.  His left eye has very low vision, but he does see something there and has peripheral vision.  I caught this when he was one and unfortunately, he was misdiagnosed for 3 years before the doctors realized what it was.  Thankfully, he has normal, if slightly near sighted, vision in his right eye and his retina specialist says that the only career he can't have with only one eye is an airplane pilot, so we are very thankful for the vision in his good eye.  He also says we have every reason to hope that his good eye will never become symptomatic, so that is what I pray for.  We went for our 6 month checkup as we always do today and I am thankful to report that all is well.  Max has the okay to get a contact lens for his good eye and we are going to that eye doctor on Monday.  I think Max is cute as can be in glasses, but at 13, he would like to start 7th grade without them.  His glasses protect his good eye, so I am somewhat nervous about an accident to his good eye, but as someone told me once, they build ships to sail the oceans, not sit in the shipyard, so I am once again, letting go and letting God, as the saying goes. So easy to say, and so hard to do.

My  20 year old had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth out yesteray and I am thankful he is such a trooper and that his pain is manageable.  Painful, but he is managing it. 

It's a glorious day today and while I would love to be by the pool, I am thankful to be taking buyers out this afternoon, having a settlement tomorrow, and buyers on Saturday and Sunday. 

My best friend had some scary tests done and the outcome was that all is well, so I am exceedingly thankful for that.  We had a lovely couple of days at the beach, just her and I, and it was nice to kick back and relax. 

Life is good.  I have my little blond haired boy JJ, at my feet as I type, the sun is shining, and both my boys are doing well.  I have a wonderful family, my mom, close friends.  What more is there?  Seriously.

Carpe Diem!

I thought it would be fun to see what is for sale, currently in my favorite township in Chester County, East Goshen.  I live here, my office is here and I love it here!  East Goshen has a lovely park, two golf courses, walking paths, social activities and great people.    Here's the rundown on what is currently available for purchase in East Goshen Township.

There are currently 142 available listings in East Goshen.

Prices range $132,900 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath flat to $1,699,000 for a 5 bedroom, 4 bath and 2 powder room single home. 

54 of these homes are single homes.  The singles range from $229,800 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home to the $1,699,000 home mentioned above!

75 of these homes are townhouses.  The townhomes range from $145,000 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bath townhouse in Summit House to $975,000 for a 3 bedroom, 4 bath home in Hersheys Mill.

8 are flats.  The flats range in price from the home listed above at $132,900 in Goshen Valley to $238,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath newer home in Rose Hill.

6 are twins. The twins range in price from $599,420 for a new twin in the Preserves at Applebrook to $1,500,00 for a twin in Applebrook.  Applebrook is East Goshen's premier golf course.  Some of these lovely homes have a view that is spectacular!

As you can see, there is something for everyone.  If you are interested in viewing a home in East Goshen township and are not currently working with a Realtor, I'd love to show you around!

* all information was obtained from TRENDMls.

If you are among my many friends who are sick to death of hearing JJ stories, you may want to move onto someone else's Thankful Thursday post.  I can't help it, I am helplessly enamored with my little dog.  He just cracks me up each and every day, and I can't get enough of him.  Let me start this story by telling you that he is a chicken.  He is afraid of his own shadow and finds even a plastic bag in the wrong place, to be a menacing enemy, that he must run behind me to bark at.  He loves to tease the cat, but when she's had enough and chases him back, if I am sitting, he will jump straight into my lap!  If I am standing, he will run behind me and start threatening her with his growling. 

This morning, I was out on the deck enjoying a cup of tea and my Oprah magazine.  I was reading a shocking story about teen girls and sex and may I digress long enough to be thankful that I have sons and not daughters?  Into this quiet morning, JJ comes out and starts barking at the cooler that is still on my deck, filled with water and soda from the family party we had on Saturday.  I am not really thankful that no one else will empty this and I will eventually have to do it myself, but that's another digression! 

Shhh!  JJ!  Why are you barking at the cooler?  "Growl... Ruff.... Growl... Ruff!!!" 

He is not backing away from this enemy, and I assume he is barking at the cooler, because it shouldn't be there anymore! I know JJ, you'd think one of the able-bodied men that live here with me would have emptied that darn cooler already.

"Growl... Ruff.... Growl... Ruff!!!" 

What is it little guy?

It's a toad!!  You would have thought JJ was a Republican and Obama was trying to make his case about health care, the way this dog was carrying on!  (Just kidding... no comments on politics on Thankful Thursdays, please!!). 

I'm telling you, the dog is quite simply one of the great loves of my life and I am ever grateful to him for lighting up my days with his antics and his doggy face.  He is the cutest thing I've ever seen and he makes me laugh out loud everyday!

I am also thankful today for the peace that came to my friend Evelyn Ward.  Evelyn, aged 82, fought a dignified fight against bone cancer and is now at peace.  She passed away the Sunday after I got back from vacation and is flying up in heaven with the angels and her beloved husband John, whom she met at aged 65, when she stopped in the local airport to take flying lessons.  She got more than she bargained for, she got lessons and the love of her life.  Evelyn was a fun loving and unique individual that hired me to deliver meals on wheels some time last year.  We hit it off immediately and became wonderful friends.  I will miss her, but I am at peace knowing that she is on her way to a new adventure in heaven.  I am thankful to have met and befriended such a wonderful little lady!

I have much to be thankful for,  My sons are healthy, my husband and I are both busy at work, my mom was just here for a visit, I have many friends that I adore.  I am going to the beach with my best friend on Sunday for an overnight.  Life is good.  I am thankful.

Carpe Diem!!

We all know that this market can be daunting.  We know that listings can sit for a while and sometimes, part of our strategy to make them look like new listings is to re-list them. This is a good strategy, although our local MLS now runs cumulative days on market so that an astute buyer can tell if the property has been re-listed.  Prior to this, only buyers with great buyer's agents knew you could also check the history of a property.  

A new listing came up today in my market area.  The first picture had snow.  Snow on the roof, snow on the lawn.  Now, what do you think my first clue was that while this may be coming up as a new listing, it has actually been on the market awhile??  Take a new freaking picture people.  It's July!  The rest of the pictures were actually very summery.  The pool is open in one, but the first picture, the one that counts, shows snow. 

We are professionals.  We need to help our sellers put their best foot forward.  The first impression of a home, these days, is on the Internet.    Snow in July... not the best first impression.  (This is actually a photo of one of my listings this winter.  As soon as the snow melted, I drove out and took another photo!)

It's summertime, and the living is easy.  Beach books, reading by the pool books, reading anytime, anywhere books!  It's not a secret that I don't live to read, I read to live.  I love to escape into a good book and I have been reading all summer!  Right now I am reading an absolutely wonderful book that is such a surprise to me.  Why it's a surprise is a mystery, because my mom recommended it.  My mom has never lead my astray when it comes to books.  Or anything else, for that matter.

If you are a history buff, particularly a WWII history buff, this is a must read.  It is a work of fiction.  I guess, to be accurate, it's an historical novel.  The novel's main character is a writer, the setting just after WWII.  The subject is the German Occupation of the Channel Islands.  It's about how the occupation affected the people on the island and how they coped.  The style is a bit different.  The entire book is in letters, to and from the main character.  It's charming, moving, and I am loving it.  I know I will be sad when I am finished.

So, it's July 20.  What are you reading?

It seems to me that there are many women about my age who are searching for happiness.  I suppose there are probably many men my age looking for the same thing, but it seems that women may be a bit more vocal about it.  They are leaving relationships and jobs in the ever elusive search for happiness and fulfillment.  They are interviewing career counsels for advice on what they should do when they grow up.  They are seeing psychologists in the hopes that if they dig deep, they will find the cause of their unhappiness.  Is it really the men they live with?  Is it really the job that is getting them down?  This morning while at the gym I got to talking to two women and of course, the subject of what do we want to be when we grow up, came up.   I said I only hoped that I would grow up before I died.  

Seems to me that this may be what the problem is.  Maybe we need to grow up and face reality.  I am listening to a CD by Abraham Hicks.  She suggests that we are where we are, and it's okay.  It has to be okay, because that is where we are, and it has got to be enough, because that's all there is.  And furthermore, that's okay.  

So, is it?  Is it enough?  I hope so, because right now, it's all there is.

It's been a whirlwind week, getting back from vacation a week ago Tuesday, I've been working non-stop since I got out of my car.  I listed two homes this week, and getting them marketed and on the various websites is extremely time consuming.  I am still not unpacked totally, my house looks like a cyclone blew through and Saturday is my son's big family party.  There will be family there, but there will also be many friends that are like family to me.  I have always believed that friends are the family you get to pick for yourself and I am forever thankful for my friends, current, past and present, who people my life and enrich my days. Not to say I am not very thankful for my family, because that is most certainly true as well!

This day I am especially thankful for something.  While we were at the shore, one of my boys discovered a lump.  I won't get specific, I won't name the boy, but I was a little worried and with all that went on at work, we didn't get to our family doctor until Monday.  She felt it, agreed that there appeared to be a small mass there and decided to order an ultrasound and another imaging test today. 

My son was not happy about all of this.  He hadn't wanted to go to the doctor in the first place and I had to cajole him and finally demand that he go.  The radiologist called to say that they would do the ultrasound first and only do the second test if they felt it necessary so that he would not have unnecessary radiation.  I am thankful for their clear minded thinking.

Long story short, the lump is something benign and nothing needs to be done about it.  When he came out to tell me, although I was almost sure of the outcome, I stood to hug him and that's when I started to cry.  Which is usually my way.  I can hold it together until I don't have to anymore. They always say that God only gives you what you can handle and I hope God knows me so well that he knows I can't handle something happening to one of my boys.

So, I am extremely thankful this Thursday.

Carpe Diem!