Recently, after holding a 10-pound turkey in the meat aisle of a local supermarket for almost 10 minutes, the young mom from Riverdale and I finished our conversation and agreed to meet at one of my open houses next Sunday. What was my life like before I started selling real estate in Bergen County more than 30 years ago? Was I able to shop much faster? Was there even a kosher supermarket in Teaneck back then?

I don’t know that I would call myself a real estate authority, but the one thing I have more than most and surely treasure, are my experiences with many of you. I have been listening and sharing with the people of this community your greatest joys and sadly some of your lowest moments. The instructors never mention in their real estate licensing classes that YOU are going to be the first person contacted when one of your friends or neighbors calls to discuss the fact that their parents are too old to stay in their home and need to be moved. Divorces, bankruptcies, those hardest of occasions when you are called upon with no warning. I’ve been rewarded by those happier calls as well such as “My daughter just found out she is expecting and wants to buy a home in the area!” And then, of course, there is my all time favorite, “We are planning to make aliyah!”

As an Orthodox Jew I have been raised from the youngest of ages to appreciate the power of my words and now as a veteran of real estate transactions, I have only grown in my devotion to the confidentiality clause that every Realtor is bound to. With that as my guide I am thankful and continue looking forward to serving my community for many more Thanksgivings to come!

How serendipitous that after graduating NYU with a master’s degree in old English literature in my hand, this is the turn my life took. My mother, a”h, never forgave me!

Nechama Polak is the broker of record and owner of V&N Group LLC, located at 1401 Palisade Avenue in Teaneck, New Jersey. Send your thoughts and comments to [email protected] or call 201 826 8809.