We had no plans to go away.
Like most families, our Christmas holidays were busy. Work was ramping back up, the kids were settling back into routines, and life was moving forward exactly the way it always does. Then my wife injured her hand.
She is a dental hygienist, so a hand injury is not a small thing. What initially felt like an inconvenience turned into surgery, and shortly after that, a conversation with her surgeon that changed everything. She was going to be off work for a minimum of six weeks, possibly longer. On paper, it was stressful and completely unplanned.
Instead of asking, 'Why is this happening?' we asked a different question: What opportunity does this create?
That question changed everything.
We could have stayed home and started the year like any other year. Kept things predictable, comfortable, and familiar. Instead, we leaned in.
Unbeknownst to our three boys, we decided to go to Mexico.
At 4 a.m. on New Year's Eve, we packed them into the car in full snowsuits. As far as they knew, we were heading north to the cottage. About an hour into the drive, our oldest, Charlie, started sensing something was off. We were not turning north. We were heading toward Toronto. Toward the airport.
We did not say much.
When the lights of the airport came into view, we finally told them. 'Guys, we have a surprise. We are not going to the cottage. We are going to Mexico. Right now.' The suitcases were already packed behind them.
The reaction — the disbelief, the joy, the pure excitement — is something I will never forget.
We ended up being away for twelve days. We did not do the all-inclusive route. We rented a car, set up a home base in an Airbnb on the ocean, and explored. Every day was different. New beaches. Cenotes. Local restaurants. Long drives. Wrong turns. New foods. New experiences. Real Mexico.
Midway through the trip, while having lunch at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant, we got talking to a couple of locals. They started describing their favourite place in all of Mexico — a region called Bacalar. Lagoons. Jungle. Water so blue it almost did not look real.
We had not planned on going anywhere else. But the excitement in their voices made it hard to ignore.
So we did what we seem to do best as a family. We pivoted.
We packed up, surprised the boys, and drove three hours south. Eventually we turned onto a dirt path so rough I questioned every life decision that led us there. Thirty minutes in, with potholes threatening to swallow the rental SUV, I genuinely wondered if we had made a mistake.
Then we arrived.
A remote, jungle-like escape. A lakeside hut. Kayaks. Hammocks. Silence. And yes, our very own alligator — viewed safely from a distance.
We spent three days in Bacalar, and they were some of the most memorable days we have ever had as a family. The boys were in heaven. It felt like something out of Peter Pan.
None of this would have happened if we had not acted when the opportunity showed up.
We could have said, 'Next year.' We could have said, 'When things slow down.' But life does not wait for convenient, and kids do not stay this age forever.
As a parent, as a business owner, and as someone building things for the long term — the lessons they absorb do not come from what we say. They come from what we do. They come from watching how we respond when life throws us a curveball. Do we retreat, or do we look for possibilities?
That is a big part of why I started the Raising for Success journey. It is not just about business. It is about perspective. It is about recognizing that having kids does not hold you back. It sharpens you, if you let it.
You never know what tomorrow will bring. So when an opportunity presents itself — at home or in business — my advice is simple.
Take it.
Because someday, you will realize the memories were the return that mattered most.