We all grieve our loss of Carmen. But, she is resting in the brighter world. I am getting old and ready to do some resting too, but there is much to be done — as they say in the movies.

But, will there ever be another Carmen? Nobody will ever be like her. But, perhaps there will be someone who will do her work. I get so far behind on emails and phone calls, renewals and more. It is hard to keep up.

I wanted to spend 2021 doing quality control, and I brushed up 1000’s of people’s notes sections and quizzed thousands as well. It took forever, but I did a good job refining my procedures and getting my listings straightened out. There are just so many of them.

I need to be at peace with myself and done with whatever projects I am working on to have time to incubate someone else to help me with my work.

I met several people who sounded promising who wanted to help me work. But, I never followed through. Most of them quit the notary industry after a year anyway. Do I want to work with a quitter? Carmen lasted 17 years and has the emotional scars to prove it. I want someone who will last.

But, the other day a nice lady from Florida called me. She said she wanted to work for me. She wasn’t at all like Carmen, but she was charismatic, great with people, had a customer service background, and was black. I was thinking — will she be the next Carmen? I started having that feeling. You know that feeling when you meet that person and you wonder — is she the one?

I had that feeling when I looked under the sofa and found true love. I said hello and she said “meao.” We became instant lifelong friends and I have the claw marks to prove it. Every time I look under that sofa, many years after Mrs. Meao’s demise, I wonder — will I find true love again under a sofa? Of all the unlikely places. But, I don’t think I will find a new and perfect assistant under a sofa. But, perhaps from a referral or unexpected phone call.

An old contact from 2005 or 2008 surfaced with me. She referred someone to me and that person mentioned her name. Nicole Mickel. She was in the settlement industry and then moved to Real Estate and sells houses in Florida to people moving down from New York. Quite a business. I forgot her exact name, I knew it had an N and an M in it. So, I asked for the contact information for Nicole’s number and called her. She was her charismatic old self. She gave me great hiring advice. She taught me how to hire based on personality type and how to decipher what a person’s personality type is. Mrs. Meao’s personality type was that she liked to snooze and claw people, but I don’t know how this applies to humans.

In any case I feel more emotionally ready to deal with this. When Carmen died, I knew she was sick and I knew she was slowing down. I thought she still had a few more years. Her death was not only traumatic, but just left me there high and dry and emotionally unready.

I think when people die, they should give their friends, family and contacts two years notice. I am slow dealing with stuff.

In any case, to sum it up, I am getting more ready to find a replacement. I will be strategic and try to find a great personality who is disciplined about this type of work and good with people. No promises. whomever it is will not have the technical saavy of Carmen, but might be very helpful and have a great personality. Keep your paws crossed… or fingers.