How "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" Got Her Home

There was an old woman, Who lived in a shoe; She had so many children, She didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth, Without any bread; She whipped them all soundly, And sent them to bed. (The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe)

"HOME" PURCHASING PROCESS

At first read this well known nursery rhyme seems harmless enough. But then a closer look raises a few questions (and eyebrows). I know, I know. The spanking part some folks have a problem with. But that's not what I'm focusing on here. It's way before that ~ to the actual "home" purchasing process prior to the rhyme.

BLAME THE REALTOR®

And I guess we might place the blame on the old woman's realtor® for her new living situation. I mean, a shoe? Is that really all her real estate agent could find her? And then there was the size (square "feet/foot") issue. (No pun intended?) And for all those kids? That was a whole lot of feet to put in a single shoe. No wonder mom got the paddle out after dinner. They were at each others' throat. And so we just could place the blame on the old woman's realtor® for her plight. Bad, bad realtor®. (Paddle, paddle.)

But what if it wasn't really that way at all?

OLD WOMAN'S FAULT

What if it was the old woman's fault instead? I mean, her realtor® kept telling her, "It's not big enough, Ma'am. It's not big enough. There's not enough room for you, plus all those kids," but she just wouldn't listen. The old woman was that kind of person. She had a short fuse. She'd pull the paddle out on anyone, quite frankly. (Ever had a client like that?) The old woman was gonna make that shoe a home if it killed her. What if it wasn't really the realtor's® fault, but the old woman's instead?

IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL

And then just maybe it wasn't really like either of these two scenarios. And maybe the shoe was the only thing available on the market. (All the rest had holes in them.) And all those kids? Well, you see, they were living on the streets until the (kindly) old woman took them in (whose daughter was the realtor® that sold her the shoe and actually funded a portion of the her mom's "orphanage" with her business income). And then what about the broth and no bread? Well, it wasn't a financial thing at all. The old woman just hadn't had a chance to get to the store.

THAT "WHIPPING" THING

And then now on to that "whipping" thing. I thought you might not let me get away without addressing it. (Hmm?) It's really quite simple. It was a game of checkers the old woman "whipped them all soundly" in and then "sent them to bed." (It was 10 p.m. on a school night after all.) ;P

MORAL OF THE STORY

The moral of this story? It's as important as ever to get the right real estate agent, be a patient buyer and not pre-judge people (and/or the home purchasing process).