LIFESTYLES & W ELLNESS
Julie Osborn and Pat Allen
The Dynamic Pat
& Julie Duo
P
Even in business, the relationship between Pat Allen and her daughter, Julie, is predicated upon love.
erhaps no relationship is as highly charged or has been more explored than that of a mother and daughter. At its best, the mother-daughter dynamic can be as close as two humans can get. But what happens when you throw business into the bond? Two women who have successfully navigated that path are local realtors, Pat Allen, and daughter, Julie Osborn. They recently shared their story with me. The secret to the success of their relationship and business is revealed in their conversation and obvious rapport. From the moment she was born, Julie and her Mom had a close relationship. So perhaps it’s not surprising that they ultimately went into business together. Julie recalls that the two were very involved in their church in Macon, Georgia – attending Sunday School every Sunday, church both 192 A U G U S T 2 0 21 | T H E L A U R E L M A G A Z I N E . C O M
morning and evening, and Wednesday night suppers. Favorite memories of her time with Mom include digging for sand dollars with their toes at the beach, picnics in the park, and scuba diving in the Caribbean. She jokes about the sandwiches Pat packed in her school lunch boxes – the “most awful peanut butter sandwiches ever; the peanut butter spread so thin because Mom was afraid I would gain weight. But, worst of all, she always took a bite out of the corner – I guess so I would remember her.” The pair talk sweetly about their mutual love for Pat’s second husband (also named Pat), whom Pat married when Julie was 12 years old. The three were inseparable from the beginning, traveling and goofing off and dancing to the “Phantom of the Opera” or just spending quiet time at home. As Julie reminisces, “He was the best thing that ever happened to me.” When Julie was a child, Pat befriended an older woman, a deaf-
