This could be you!

In 91 days I’m leaving my job and moving to Grenada for nine months! No, I’m not retiring- I’m about midway through my working career, married, two kids, and a mortgage.  How, you may ask, is this possible? Read on and find out.

Three months ago my intrepid wife Sara, looked at me over her laptop and said “There’s a volunteer position in Grenada, should I apply for it?” Of course the answer was yes, because in the back of my mind I thought, what will it hurt? It’s never going to happen anyway. This was an error on my part as I had forgotten that what you ask the universe for, you get.

Now some of you may be thinking, time to stop reading, this guy is way out there; but I really do believe a lot of what I happens in my life is because I have thought about what I have wanted. Sometimes it’s a small thing like a good parking spot at the grocery store (this drives my wife crazy, when tada there is the spot closest to where ever we are going), or other times it’s a big thing like this adventure were about to go on.

This adventure started when our family went to Costa Rica for a vacation in February of 2012 and thought this is where we could spend a lot more time than a week.  We came home and tried to find a way to disappear for a year. The challenge was to make it happen before our oldest went to high school in four years, but financially it seemed like an impossible timeline.

Fast forward two years. Sara and I both started small home businesses and invested in rental real estate as a way to help fund our dream of taking a year away.  I knew that our real estate investment would give me the confidence to step away for a year when an opportunity knocked.

So what was this opportunity my wife applied for? It is a volunteer position with CUSO International.  I will be going as an “accompanying spouse”.  I think the term “tag-along” is more appropriate.  CUSO is a fantastic organization that does developmental work in countries all over the world. They cover most of the costs for the volunteer and some of the costs to get there and back for the tag-alongs.

To make this once in a lifetime experience happen we are renting our own home while we are gone to offset some costs and leaning a little bit on credit. Both Sara and I are also fortunate that we can take a one year sabbatical and return to our jobs.  We met others at our volunteer training sessions that just quit their jobs and went for it.

The thing is, it is possible.  Find your own way, live a bit of your life now.  Give your children an experience they will never forget and that will shape their lives forever.  You may have to take some risks, and some people will say you’re crazy, but mostly they will wish they could do it too.

So come along on our adventure. Each family member is blogging about this trip from their own point of view. I want to blog about being a tag along, kite boarding, living in Grenada and being a dad of kids who are learning about a different way of life.