Life Plan

Life does not always turn out like one has planned. I figured if I did everything the way it should be done and in the correct order, life would proceed according to the order in my mind. So here is what I did. I graduated high school and went to college, then got my graduate degree, got married, bought a house, bought a dog and then had kids. I figured since I had done everything in the "right" order, the money, the big house, the vacations and fun adult toys like boats and skis would simply fall in place like it looked like it had for my parents.

Well, that did not exactly happen. The housing market totally crashed our "big home" dream, were driving 8 year old cars and have health care bills that seem to keep piling up. Forget about the vacations and ski trips. Our annual Disneyland trip has even taken a back seat the last two years.

How is it that my husband and I have Masters Degree's and are financially squeaking by? This was not supposed to be the case, you go to college to have dreams of good jobs and financial stability. My husband and I both work in heath care and recently my husband has moved into the teaching arena. I feel bad when I think about the future of my children and discourage them from going into the human service industry. My husband cringes when I tell him I don't care if our kids go to college. Did it really work out for us? I certainly don't want my kids to be in the same spot that my husband and I are in.