They say money can’t buy happiness, but I am pretty sure we just bought some of it.

I am a dreamer.  I am also a believer of chasing your dreams. I’ve chased a few of my own.  Some with successful results and some not – those are the ones you learn the most from.  I also believe in supporting and pushing others to follow their own dreams.   In this story, someone else’s dream affected me directly and I was happy to play a role to help make it happen. 🙂

Back in 2007 when we started considering having kids, Becca had what could’ve been a very successful career in business.  However, I’ve always thought that teachers were special people with special qualities and I thought Becca had all those qualities and had the potential of being an awesome teacher! (I was proven right later).   At that time, she started toying with the idea of teaching in order to spend more time at home and eventually when our kids grew of age, she could be involved in their school life.  We thought more about it due to the fact that Hillsborough County was in need of teachers, and the timing was just right.  The easy decision would’ve been to remain in her position, move up the ladder of Corporate America, etc, etc  BUT we had a bigger plan in mind. A plan that could allow Becca to eventually fulfill her dream of being a mom; a mom that could be involved with the kiddos.

That summer we (she) took the plunge. And no surprise, she was AWESOME at it. Kids loved her. Teachers loved her. Administrators loved her! A few years later she was offered an Assistant Principal position and although she hesitated taking it because she would miss the classroom and the kids, she took on the challenge and rocked that position as well. (you see the trend here? ;))

Last year, we were given the opportunity to chase her big dream for the first time.  Chasing it required some sacrifices – mostly financial as our kid’s school is a small private school that is not in need of APs so she would need to teach  – but we could not chase it in 2014. We had a lot going on with the babies on their way, short notice, etc…  Although disappointed, we think it was the best thing.  That extra year allowed us to plan ahead to make the transition in 2015. We needed to come up with ideas on how to supplement Becca’s new income so we could maintain our lifestyle. Also, the arrival of the babies meant more expenses! Food, daycare/nanny, etc. We had to plan for all of it and make sure we would be ok.   It was also a good year for Becca to begin her transition of her AP role in her school (a school she loved and is so grateful for). During her pregnancy with the twins, they were so amazing to her- being very flexible with her schedule, out-of-school duties, etc.  We are forever grateful to them not only for that last year, but for the entire time Becca was a part of the school.

This summer (2015) when the opportunity rose, we were ready. We had a business in place (www.PackLessPlayMore.com), we had the nanny situation for Santi, Emi and Ale taken care of, and Nati and Nico had successfully finished their first year at their new school!  I am not going to lie, going into it was a bit scary.  As much as you plan, you never knew how things are going to settle in, how “accurate” our financial planning was, how crazy (or not) things would be, etc.

Well….  I can now tell you with confidence that it has been AWESOME!  Becca is so happy! The kids are SO happy their mom works at their school! Becca feels so fulfilled teaching again and loves that she can see our kids throughout the day, have lunch with them, be available if they need her, etc…  I am kind of jealous but so happy for all of them.  Yes, we are a couple of tens of thousands of dollars short compared to last year, but every penny is worth it.  Being able to chase and achieve a life dream has no price – it only brings satisfaction, smiles, happiness and that, for us, is what life is about. Being happy together.

So yes, people say you can’t buy happiness, but I am pretty sure we just bought ourselves a huge chunk!  Cheers to dreaming and chasing dreams!!  God bless.