Our dream is about to begin!
We have wired the money, signed the papers.. and now it’s time to move in!!! We just bought a second home by the ocean and it is our dream home! We want to share with all of you how to cultivate your dream and achieve it. In our case, our dream was to own a beach house where we can spend quality family time relaxing and enjoying the outdoors together. We ultimately hope to spend our summers down there together as a family, and enjoy the slower pace of the Delawarean life.
In order to learn more about our dream, you have to learn a little bit about all of us. I am Maureen, a mom of three who likes to sit on the beach, drink wine, and eat chocolate. Who doesn’t like that? I also have a passion for interior design, reading, exercise, and my family. A year ago, I left my job as a labor and delivery nurse to stay home and take care of our family, and just last month I finished my very first run/bike/run duathlon. I grew up spending my summers in Bethany Beach, Delaware working at the various stores in town and hanging with our “summer friends”. When I met my husband, I brought him down to the beach and hoped and prayed that he would fall in love with the town. It didn’t take much convincing and after 8 years of dating, marriage, and spending as many stolen weekends as we can down in Bethany, we are now officially homeowners.
My husband Greg is an executive at a software company and the complete opposite of me! Greg is an introvert who thinks deeply, loves to read, and explore any and all hobbies that call out to him. He is wildly good at math - since we started dating I have lost all ability to add, subtract, and divide. He loves cars, racing cars, and watching car races. His second dream beyond owning a second home is to own a second car…again! Before me, he owned multiple race cars and daily drivers. For now, this hobby has been sidetracked with kids and budgeting. But as you can see, he tends to throw himself into his projects, like this one, and make it not only work but succeed.
And finally, we have three little ones. Addy is our oldest girl at 5yrs old. She’s a cautious spirit but is always ready to learn or read a book. Eric at 3yrs old is the definition of crazy! He is either running full speed or passed out and nothing in between. And finally there’s Maggie, who is 11 months old and the sweetest little girl who laughs and smiles at everything and is desperate to catch up with her siblings. All three have spent every summer of their life at the beach and as a result have come to share their parents’ passion for the town.
Starting
Tonight is the eve of our big move and our home in Maryland looks like a bomb went off. All three of our children are finally asleep and I am practically sleepwalking. I am one of those early risers who gets stuff done and then crashes promptly at 8pm after the kids. Sitting down to write after a day of packing and hanging with the kids is a miracle but I felt like I had to capture the emotions and feelings of this milestone in our lives.
Over the past two years I have recognized how important a second home at the beach is to our family. I want my children to experience the same wonderful childhood I had. I want them to escape to a cute town where you recognize faces, where pedestrians really have the right of way, where the dollar bill trick doesn’t get old, and where you can stop time. I want them to be surrounded by a safe and loving community where they can hop on the trolley and go to the beach, the library, or the bandstand. And so this dream was born and now it has become a reality.
Just a Dream
We are still pinching ourselves at the fact that we just purchased our vacation home. It’s also our dream home. We never thought we would find a house so perfect for our family in style, location, amenities, and budget. We continue to think we are dreaming. Because of this, we decided to name our home ’Just a Dream‘.
Born from this dream was our decision to share our experiences throughout the ups and downs of it all. We plan to dive into the inner workings of owning a second home from how to grocery shop between two homes, how to keep energy bills down, yard maintenance schedules, planning, and relaxation techniques, and also how to save for it.
We hope you’ll join us as we keep moving on this journey!