A Sudden Realization

Yesterday Mark and I went out to breakfast to celebrate the end of the school year. As we were waiting for our food to arrive I suddenly realized that more than likely I would not work full time again outside of our home for the next 12-13 years and even if I did work after the next 12 years it would be part time at least for awhile! I have been working somewhere full or part time since I was 15 almost 16 years old, 10 years now. It all started at Sutter Movie theater in Yuba City, California and continued through Idaho, Utah, Egypt, and Colorado. It would be cool to figure out how much money I made through the past decade but I do not like math so there is no way I am going to try to figure that one out.
The other realization I made was that, since Mark and I didn't have amazing salaries this past year here in Colorado, next fall when I am not working his salary alone will be more than what we made the past 10 months combined this year. Its really nice to know that when I am not working we will not be making less money. Its nice because it makes it easier to know that me staying home will not bring a huge salary decrease. We will make more! And fortunately, since we have not been making a lot of money we do not have an extravagant lifestyle so we won't all of a sudden have all these financial worries. I understand that there will be lots of other worries and that life will become more expensive but the nice thing is that salaries do increase over time (albeit very slowly for teachers). We will never be rich but we will be okay!
I am really looking forward to staying home with our kids. I know there will be days when I will want to be amongst other adults and maybe out working or just being stimulated somewhere but overall I think I am totally getting the better deal. My Mom was able to stay home with us kids for about 13 years and she always tells me how happy she was that she got to stay home with us. She started working when I was old enough to go to school since I was the youngest. Mark and I figure that we want to have 3 kids, somewhere around 2 years apart so 3 times 2 = 6, then add at least 6 years to that last kid who is born and there you go, 12 years! I think when I do go back to work I would like to work at a school somewhere so I have a similar schedule to our kids. Who knows how everything will work out but it is strange to think that I will not be going back to work this fall at a school or anywhere else.
We really are looking forward to this next phase of our life challenges/adjustments and all! Mark and I have had a lot of time to enjoy each other and just be with each other, almost 5 years, its been so nice! We have gotten to do so much and really just be together, the two of us so we really are excited for this October and all the subsequent ones too!