I used to work part-time three days a week in a town that was an hour away from my home. Every day, as I drove out of my town, I could see a new building being constructed. I kept thinking to myself how cool it would be to work there, just five minutes away from home, instead of driving an hour to my current job.

One day, in March 2022, I decided to visit the headquarters office and inquire about job openings suitable for my skill set. The building wasn’t even finished yet, but I thought, “Why not give it a shot?” and then forgot about it. My husband worked shifts, so we were comfortable financially but not overly so.

About six years ago, my family and I visited a small market in a beach town in New Zealand. My daughter, who was 9 at the time, was fascinated by a stand selling beautiful sea shells. She picked one up, admired it, and said, “Wow, this is beautiful.” When she asked how much it was, the lady at the stand said it was from the Philippines and cost $10. My daughter put it back and said, “Mom, can we go there? I want to get one myself.” I laughed and said, “Sure, kid,” half-jokingly, but I stored that desire in my mental list of places to visit.

In 2022, around October, I told my husband, “Next year, we’re all going to the Philippines.” He rolled his eyes and said, “How? You only work part-time.” I confidently replied, “Watch me.” So, every week, I bought a passport for one of my kids. Once I had all the passports, I started purchasing travel bags each week. I decided that we would only travel with carry-on luggage, as we had experienced the hassle of returning with a full suitcase of souvenirs from a previous trip.

I strategically packed essentials like snorkels, swimsuits, quick-dry towels, and beach footwear. Anything else that could fit was a bonus. I created our own itinerary by spending hours researching adventures, flights, and the best places to visit. I knew my adventurous family would love the activities I had found on TikTok, Google, and other sources. Each week, I bought a flight or an activity, and eventually, I had everything planned out. We ended up taking nine flights over five weeks, involving five currency changes, and also made stops to see family in Taiwan and Brunei.

Two weeks before our trip, we saw a property that caught our eye and discussed making an offer on a house with land. Although it didn’t work out, we knew that was the next direction we wanted to go. Nonetheless, we embarked on our trip, which turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Everything fell into place perfectly, which I was grateful for. I trusted that the Universe would help us.

One day, while checking my emails in the Philippines, I received a message from the company I had applied to, asking to schedule a job interview in five days. I had completely forgotten about my application since I hadn’t heard from them in a year, and I was in the Philippines at the time. I emailed them my return date to New Zealand, and they responded by suggesting a Zoom interview. I took a moment to check our itinerary and then booked a hotel with good Wi-Fi for the interview day. I had to laugh because I only had one semi-suitable top for a job interview in my light carry-on luggage. So, while the kids were asleep, I went to the pool house and had my job interview in Cebu, Philippines. I thought I had probably messed it up because I was in holiday mode, not job-seeking mode. My husband found it amusing and said he wasn’t worried about whether I got the job, considering the odds of getting an interview while on vacation and with only one suitable top to wear.

A few days later, before leaving for Brunei, I received an email requesting another interview for the position. Checking my itinerary, I realized that we would be flying into Kuala Lumpur the day before the interview, scheduled for 9 am my time and 1 pm in New Zealand. So, before leaving the Philippines, I booked a nicer hotel with two rooms for a quiet place to do my interview. It was a bit extravagant for our style of travel, but the view of the Petronas Towers was stunning, and my kids were amazing, adapting to wherever we stayed.

I was hoping the person interviewing me was different because I wore the only top I had in my bag again, and thank goodness he was different. His jaw dropped when our cameras turned on, and he mainly talked about my background view and our current adventures. We ran out of time for him to ask me work questions, so I really thought I’d bombed.

A few days later, we returned home to New Zealand after being away for five weeks. After settling in for a few days, I posted on the town’s social media page asking if anyone was selling a lifestyle property privately. We were looking for a property between 2-5 acres. That night, we received a message from a man in Brunei who had just bought a property in our town. He mentioned that there might be a property for sale between his new property and his parent’s property, which was a 10-acre home. Upon reading this message, my husband suggested that we look for his parents’ house, as he believed that all old people have their last names on the letterbox. We quickly went out and found the guy from Brunei’s parent’s house, and after introducing ourselves, we were invited by the elderly man to go and see the neighboring house. He hopped into the passenger seat, I sat in the back, and we drove to his neighbor’s house.

It all started when Mike, the owner, initially said he wasn’t planning to sell until the following year, but he ended up showing the property to my husband. After seeing the place, my husband was completely sold. We had originally been considering 2 acres, but now my husband was set on 10. I couldn’t believe it!

Anyway, the next day, we all got into the car and headed to the new house.  In my mind, I was thinking, “How are we going to manage this? I work part-time, and this is twice the size we were originally looking at.” But then I remembered, “You put it out there on Facebook, woman!” My husband and Mike closed the deal, and we got busy figuring out the logistics. I returned to work on Tuesday and received an email that day offering me a new job with a specific salary. I called the broker, and she was amazed. I handed in my notice that day. She worked her magic, and within four weeks, I started my new job at a place just 5 minutes away. We moved into our new home a week later.

We are grateful for our home and the good things that have come our way. We feel like we’re on a fast-flowing river, surrounded by happiness. We’re thankful for our new carpet, painted walls, and our animals. We feel that the Universe has been kind to us, providing help when needed and making everything work out. My husband is amazed by it all and encourages me to keep going with this positive mindset. Thank you, thank you, thank you!