Changes

In 2001 Neal and I bought a timeshare in Hawaii - on Kauai.  It's not fancy but we have two weeks every year at a great location near the harbor in Lihue.  Plus our timeshare is an actual condo, as opposed to the fancy Marriott timeshares across the street that are essentially hotel rooms with a microwave and a mini refrigerator.  Unlike other locations, we actually hold title to a specific unit instead of just owning time at a facility. That means we always returned to the same unit each year.  We have a living room, dining area, full-sized, fully-furnished kitchen, 1 1/2 baths, washer & dryer and two bedrooms.  Neal and I enjoyed going there with family and friends or just the two of us and I've even gone alone.   It's been lovely.
But the timeshare market is a nightmare because so many people can't afford the maintenance fees or just can't afford that type of travel.  This has had an impact on decisions made by our very conservative board of directors.  A few months ago they proposed removing our building from the timeshare inventory, which would be a significant savings and would mean that annual maintenance fees wouldn't have another huge increase any time soon.  But they have to get each owner of each week to agree to the changes.  (Can you imagine trying to negotiate with 50 owners and satisfying all of them while moving them into other units throughout the property?)   I think I've been one of the more difficult owners concerning this trade.  They offered some incentives which I didn't like and I turned down several suggestions. They offered a couple of different units but I didn't like their locations or their views.  I loved the unit we bought, I had stayed there with Neal and I didn't want to go anywhere else.  So when a packet of legal documents arrived yesterday I was upset because I still hadn't agreed verbally to the changes.  I considered calling my local attorney and letting them do battle for me but that seemed harsh. 
This morning I went to the temple and came away feeling at peace about a number of concerns.  I had an appointment this afternoon but it was cancelled at the last minute so I felt it was a great time to work on the Hawaii problem.  I said a prayer and called the general manager in Hawaii.  We discussed why I was unhappy with the documents and talked about some other concerns related to the paperwork.  He said he'd have Ben, the poor guy making all the switches, call me back to see if we could work out the details.  Five minutes later Ben called, he explained what criteria they had used to meet my demands (4 of the 5 concerns) and then I explained that the missing demand was the most important and I was willing to compromise on others.  He looked through their inventory and came up with a perfect unit - still close to the office but higher up so a better view, almost the same number of RCI points to trade, and in a different month so airfare will be cheaper.    He had been trying to make sure I still travelled at the same time, and frankly I don't much care for the idea of going to Hawaii in June so that one was negotiable.  By June we have decent weather at home, so what's the point?   My new time is in September so the crowds will be smaller, traffic issues won't be such a problem and I can still enjoy great Lihue weather.  Five minutes later the secretary had emailed new documents and I think we're on the road to finalizing this transaction.

I guess it's time to move forward.  I can still go to Kauai, still stay at Banyan Harbor and still enjoy the same wonderful weather and views and memories, even if I'm not standing on the same lanai where Neal and I used to stand together.