The Start of Our Adventure

With the birth of Emerson over the weekend, our new adventure has begun. Karissa worked her last day until at least the fall of 2018 because of a cool benefit in her contract allowing something like 18 months off, unpaid of course, with a guaranteed job upon return. I had my last day at the end of 2016. We’re now full-time parents.

I have tried to explain why we’re doing something as bizarre as quitting good jobs to raise our kids, but I can’t find the right words. Mr. Money Mustache wrote a recent blog post that explains it perfectly:

“My main motivation for retiring early was a desire to put that role as the top thing in my life. At age 30, I set aside 20 years for this project with a goal of being cool, understanding and infinitely supportive to any kids I might have, with anything else coming a distant second. Now eleven years into that project, it remains the one thing in my current life that I manage to stick to without any compromise, and thus without any regret.”

We may not give it the full 20 years. Our vision is more or less to be parents until the kids start school. Then to work some sort of flexible job during school hours that leaves ample time for coaching sports, supporting activities, and summers even less work. Obviously, Karissa’s neat benefit of 18 months off means she has a decision looming earlier than ~5 years – but deciding not to return in 18 months doesn’t mean no job ever. Just not a job at her employer being guaranteed.

So with the next 18-60 months being completely full of possibility; with no obligations and no concrete plans, we’re going to have an adventure of a lifetime. We’re going to be parents. We’re going to enjoy unseasonably warm days. Play in the snow. Laze at the pool. Travel with no destination and no timeline. It’s our hope that however it turns out, that our kids know we did it for them. We’ll make more money later. This adventure is about using our time. Here goes nothing.

“Save what you will but remember to spend all your time.” – Jason Boland, Spend All Your Time