My husband and I recently celebrated 25 years of (mostly!) wedded bliss.  Don’t misunderstand me; it hasn’t been a cakewalk, but our years of hard work have given us a great marriage and lifestyle together.  Our anniversary gave me an opportunity to reflect upon and appreciate the keys to what makes our wonderful relationship work so well.  These behaviors, if practiced regularly will have a positive effect on all of your relationships, personal or business.

1.  Take responsibility for yourself and your relationship(s).  Don’t play the blame game–ever. Even if you’re not the cause of something negative, acknowlege the fact that you are sorry for it’s impact on your relationship. 

2. Forgive each other.  A friend once pointed out to me the definition of FORGIVE: to give as before.  Forgive often and sincerely.

3. Don’t ever complain to another person about your spouse, friend, or partner.  If you’re around someone who starts complaining  about their spouse, try to change the subject or offer something positive. 

4. Encourage, encourage, encourage!  You will be profoundly blessed  by this.

5. Be happy!  Abraham Lincoln said,”People are just as happy as they make their minds up to be.”  Happiness is a choice; as trivial as this sounds, it starts with putting a smile on your face.  Try it!

6. Take time out for yourself.  Recharging your “batteries’ brings vitality to all of your relationships.

7. Be ongoingly grateful and acknowlege what you appreciate in each other.

8. Play together and enjoy each other.  LJ and I just returned from a two week road trip to celebrate our anniversary.  We had a blast just being together.

9. Be honest with each other.  Keeping secrets is like putting a road block between you and your spouse.  “Oh what a terrible web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”  Sometimes telling the truth can be risky, but hiding the truth for a lifetime can be deadly.

10. Share your relationship and what’s good about it with others.  People want to be around those who are happy and prospering. 

So much has happened in these past 25 years.  We’ve had several recessions and housing downturns followed by periods of incredible prosperity.  Knowing this is what keeps me optimistic about the future of our Tucson Real Estate Market.  I’ve been blessed with so many wonderful clients in my real estate business. LJ and I have built a successful custom homebuilding company, McCreary Homes, in buisness since 1988.  We’ve raised 2 wonderful kids, Abby and Connor, and made a place in our home for LJ’s mom, Erma, now 91 years old.

Life continues to be good, simply because we say so.

Denise McCreary

There are a couple of ballot measures you need to pay attention to tomorrow.  In particular, Prop 100 and Prop 201.  I wrote about Prop 100 in August; see “Support Protect Our Homes“. This initiative will prevent the government from imposing a real estate transfer tax on the sale of your Tucson Arizona home.  At a time when the real estate market is suffering, new taxes will further depress home sales and place a burden on lower income home sellers in particular.

Prop 201 is called the “Homeowners Bill of Rights”, but is more accurately a proposition which will promote lawsuit abuse.  I attended a Southern Arizona Homebuilder’s Association meeting in which we learned the source of this initiative.  Prop 201 is nothing more than union extortion.  The  The AFL-CIO, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Sheet Metal Workers International Association and Ironworkers International unions gave $25,000 each on Halloween.  (How appropiate–SCARY!)  Prop. 201 would give consumer more protections and the right to fivolously sue home builders for construction defects.  This initiative, if passed, will place a terrible burden on the already distressed new home market.  Real estate industry groups oppose the measure saying it would encourage more lawsuits. The National Association of Realtors recently gave $782,000 to oppose the proposal. For more information on this very bad law, go here.

Vote Yes on 100.  Vote no on 201.

Denise McCreary