The Last Ride? by Ray Shay

Riding in Style

As our family prepared  to catch our return flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to San Diego this past week, I stood up our carry on luggage with the handle extended skyward. After picking up our boarding passes and checking in our luggage, I grabbed the handle of my carry on only to find our ten year old son, Ryan resting in his familiar spot.

It is a funny location which always makes us both laugh.  He prefers to sit on the "L" shape created by the combination of the handle and the bag.  It has been his favorite

Park City, Utah

spot for many years. I lightly tousled his beautiful brown hair and to his surprise, tilted him back and started wheeling him around.

He has not been my baggage companion for a long time as he is not as small as he used to be. The squeaky wheels and my arm both strained under Ryan's increasing weight. It was a clear indicator he is not getting any smaller.  

As I wheeled him through the airport his older siblings Troy and Raymond who are fifteen and fourteen years respectively, and both hovering around six feet could only dream of such first class service.  

As we moved at our families' consistent hurried pace, I wondered if this just might be the very last time I have the pleasure of hearing Ryan giggle as we slalom through another airport. It also got me thinking about the start of 2015. 

2015 will be full of both surprises and challenges. My biggest challenge is not business as Theresa and I decided early on that our highest priority is our children.  A slightly complex matrix where you want successful employees, great friends and an awesome community, but at the end of the day the ultimate score card is our kids. I think that is true with the vast majority of parents.

With the start of 2015, I feel fortunate we are able to live in this great country and the bountiful blessings including freedom that it presents. I also like that I can still wheel Ryan around an airport and hear his laugh.  It is something I will never forget.

Theresa and I and our entire family wish you a very happy New Year.  

Copyright Shay Realtors 2015 All Rights Reserved 

The Bobsled by Ray Shay

OK, I admit it.  I have never ridden in a bobsled and I never saw the movie, Cool Running.  And yet, given the opportunity to slip on one of those really fast looking racing suits and jumping in, you can count me in!

I know my physique would not look pretty in the tight spandex and I may not win a gold medal in the Olympics, but just to ride in a machine with no engine that goes that frikin fast would be so cool.
 
Is so many ways this month and especially this week, I feel as though I glance up only occasionally from our family bobsled and all I see is a blur.  It's work, it's shopping, it is holiday events, it is the whole enchilada.   From sunrise to sunset we are so busy that we are missing some of the most amazing things. 

Raymond carrying Ryan over finish line!

This all came to mind after our first Santa Run in Pacific Beach last Saturday.

Not enough going on in your home?  Try throwing in a 5K where you wear a red felt Santa jacket, hat, pants, black belt and white sunglasses. Oh yeah it is about 70 degrees and you have to commit one hand to holding up your Santa pants or your falling down on Garnet Ave.. 
 
My life is crazy.  It was not until long after our kids were finally in bed and sound asleep that I looked at the photograph to the right. I had missed it. 

It was a moment in time that reminded me to look up from the blur of our life to really look at a photograph. We take so many pictures I think sometimes we forget how precious these moments can really be.
 

Time really is slipping away if we don't pause.  Even if it is just for a moment.

I guess as much as I feel my life is spent in a bobsled zipping down the icy course, I need to look up more.  If I don't, at the end of the run I will step out a very old man and wonder where all the moments in time went.

To me that would not be a gold medal. It would mean I forgot the most important things in my life which are my wife, children and friends. 

Theresa and I wish you all a great holiday season.

Copyrighted - All Rights Reserved - Shay Realtors 2014 

Broker's Corner 12.2.14

Great Time to Buy a Home!

Ray Shay Broker/Owner Shay Realtors _

It's a great time to buy a home!   You think Cyber Monday or Black Friday are great times to buy?  Well they can be.  I will also tell you with so many people focusing on the holidays, it is a great time to get a deal on a home.


It is a combination of the historical low interest rates and increased home inventory.  The first of the year brings out more buyers and the increased competition tends to make it more difficult to close the deal at a sweet price.
 
If you are interested in looking at what's out there be sure to give me a call.  We have an amazing team of Buyer's Specialists.  

Ray Shay 858-449-4970

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