To put it mildly, my wife is obsessed with education. While it is not surprising given that she chose to get her Ph.D., it still was a bit of a shock to me. It started with getting our oldest son into a great preschool that really focused on making learning fun. (He loved it!)
When Zach was 4, Leanne got caught up in figuring out where he should go to kindergarten. After a great deal of research, she decided that Torrey Pines Elementary in La Jolla was the best choice. It was a “California Great School” and students there consistently did well on standardized tests.
The problem was that we were renting a house in Clairemont and there was very little chance of choicing into Torrey Pines. However, Leanne was not going to let that get in the way of the ideal education for our son. I am not even sure how, but she found a house to rent on La Jolla Shores Dr. near UCSD. So, not only could Zach go to Torrey Pines, Leanne would be a able to walk to work.
The house was beautiful and a big upgrade over the current rental. The only small problem was the rent was $1100 more per month. That was a 50% increase in monthly rent. At the time, that was not just a stretch, it was a huge leap.
Nevertheless, we decided to make the leap and figure it out. From selling Leanne’s car (to eliminate the car payment) to subletting a room to a good friend of ours, we found strategies to make it work. It was important enough to figure out.
While I am a big believer in having a plan, sometimes life presents you with opportunities that are big enough that you should jump in, even without a plan. I don’t do it often, but I am glad for the times when I have decided to jump in.
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