Oh, the Irony

So, our home has been on the market since October.  Only two people have looked since then, and they just casually dropped by a scheduled open house.  I think we can safely say the D/FW housing market is in a slump.

I agreed to take care of an extra child today whose school was cancelled due to swine flu…EXCUSE ME…the H1N1 flu.  Just yesterday, a 2nd grade child in our neighborhood was confirmed with H1N1.  As a result, the local elementary school has shut down for the week. 

All three kids were in the kitchen with me, “helping” me mix up some homemade ice cream for a treat.  As you can imagine, after several hours of playing and cooking, my house was not company-ready.  Enter the irony.  The doorbell rang and I curiously peeked out the window.  I saw our realtor standing there with a nice-looking young couple.  Uh-oh.  The procedure is that the realty company calls us at least 30 minutes in advance so we can straighten up the house and get out to the park while potential buyers tour our home.  Not that we have a lot of experience with this procedure.

Anyway, I opened the door.  My realtor questioned, “Didn’t my office call to set up a showing?”  Um, no.  Nobody called.  (Enter shrieking 4-yr-olds running by).  I put aside my frustration and sweetly invited them in to look around, apologizing for the toys, shoes, mess in the kitchen, unmade beds, etc.  But I didn’t offer to leave. 

In a not-so-bright inquiry, my realtor asked if I had a bunch of kids because school was cancelled due to swine flu H1N1.  I said yes.  She asked if the whole district was closed.  I said no.  She asked which school was closed.  I said just one school.  She wanted the name of a school.  I told her.  (I noticed shocked expressions on all three visitors).  Isn’t that the school down the street?  I said yes.  Is there a confirmed case?  I said yes. 

They pretended to look around for less than two minutes before hurriedly exiting.

Crazy, huh?