Dreams and the Future

For as long as I can remember (yes, I know...how long could that really be? I mean, I can barely remember events from last week!) I have had a particular dream. This was not a dream of financial fortune, world peace or anything like that. This had to do with how I envisioned my family.

Long before I was ever married...long before I ever had children...I would notice changes in our society and connect some of those changes (and they were not very positive changes) with the fact that there were fewer and fewer parents who could afford to live on a single income. As a result, more and more children were having to be cared for by day-care providers.

Granted, I am no George Barna. I'm not a market researcher and I didn't do surveys and interviews with thousands of people across the country to gather statistics on the matter. But my gut told me that the moral decline that I saw was connected to the fact that fewer parents were able to raise their own children.  The cost of living was simply rising too quickly.

Fast forward to today.

Today is the very first day that my dream is being realized. For the first time, our little family is in a position where we will be able to have our children be raised by us. No more day care. Also, no more dual income (so, this does not come without a price). But I believe that the sacrifice will be well worth it.

The very thought that my children will now be home with Mommy every day just makes me smile. I have to pinch myself. I'm not sure that I could possibly understand her perspective on this as I believe this sacrifice is far greater for her than it is for me.

For me, the sacrifice will likely be strictly financial. With one income, we will have to tighten up the belts. We may have to forgo some of the things we would have liked to have or do. For her, the sacrifice is much greater. I'm not the one who put my career on hold. I'm not the one who will now spend day after day with small people, aching for "grown-up" interaction and conversation, listening to "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" all day long.

But I do think that we both believe that the sacrifice is worth it. We are very blessed to be able to go on this new adventure, though it will be a lot of work and it will, at times, be very challenging. In the long run, I can see this being nothing less than a huge blessing for us and for our children.

While I may not be challenged as much or in as many ways as she will be, there is one challenge that I do face in all this that is not financially-related. As she becomes a full-time mom, I will be challenged to continuously step up as a husband and a dad. That can be a lot easier said than done. I only hope that I am up for that challenge.

For now, though, I'm focusing on the dream. Focusing on the fact that we have been able to finally achieve something that I have dreamed about for so very long. I am excited, nervous, anxious, scared, blessed, happy, grateful and hopeful. We'll see where we go from here.