Crazy Possibility

I think I might have lost my mind.  On my drive to work this morning, all I could think about was Disney World.  I have absolutely no idea why.

Two years ago around this time, I began thinking about taking the kids on a real vacation.  It had been almost four months since I asked Chris to leave and two months into my new job.  I crunched the numbers and worked out a budget to be able to afford a family vacation the next August.  It would take 7 months of saving, but I thought we could do it.  With a lot of diligence and sacrifice, we went to Gulf Shores for our first family vacation.

Not long after we returned from the beach, the kids asked if we could go to Disney World on our next vacation.  I really didn’t know when or how we’d ever be able to take a vacation again.  With the looming high school tuition expense, vacation seemed like a pipe dream…much less Disney World.

But today, I couldn’t get Disney out of my head.

I did some research and with tickets being close to $100 a person per day, there is no way we are going to be able to do the Disney vacation I had always thought about.  However, we really loved the beach!  So, what if I could find a place on the beach about an hour from Disney.  We could do a day trip into Disney World and spend the other few days on the beach.  Now this was sounding much more possible.

After a day’s worth of researching, I located a place in Cape Canaveral, FL that looks perfect for our needs.  Plus, it’s only $100 a night. 

I crunched some numbers again beginning the vacation budget in January (I still have to pay for Christmas).  I factored in the almost $600 a month tuition payment for the 2015-2016 school year and noted that all of my tax return money would need to go towards tuition.  That means, we would need to save roughly $300 a month to go on this vacation.  I think we can do it.  Now, of course, it will be difficult!  We will have to stick to a strict budget.  We cannot spend anything over budget and me must commit to putting that $300 away every month.  Barring any unforeseen expenses (car repair, medical expenses, etc) and deciding not to purchase a house, this vacation may actually happen.

I’m actually sick to my stomach over it.  Stressed beyond belief.  Worried that I should be spending this money elsewhere.  But determined to let the worries, stress and sickness be my motivation.  I want nothing more than to create memories to last a life time with my kids.  Florida and Disney may be the destination we are locking in on, but it’s the journey and sacrifices and planning and commitment to get there that are the true memories and lessons for all of us.

Like I said, I might have lost my mind!