Transitions and Role Reversal

When Carlos came home from work nearly 2 years ago, after working a great job for 7 years in his chosen field doing work he enjoyed, and said "I think I need to quit and go back to school full time for my PhD", I did two things. Once I managed to pick my jaw up off the floor, the first and most instinctive thing I did was panic. I thought "but I'm a stay at home mom! You can't quit your job b/c then I'd have to work full time and what happens to my two small children?! Who's going to care for them?! And what's more, I don't want anyone else caring for them, not even their grandparents! That's my job. Mine alone. We agreed on that before we got pregnant. You would work, I would go to part time from home and I would be here for our kids as they went from infants to toddlers and then to preschool age."
It took months for me to calm the heck down and realize that I would live, and more importantly, my children would too. Fast forward two years and you'll see, we're still here. We're fine. We're happy. It's been a year and a half since he left his job and became a full time student. And it took me almost that long to begin to understand my role in this part of our lives.
I did start working more, but not full time. Those first few months, after Carlos dropped his bomb about what his plans were for the next 4-5 years, we stayed up many nights, talking, fighting, me crying, him angry, me angry, blah blah blah. And in the end we came to an agreement. I would become a contractual teacher, using that hard earned college degree that was gathering dust on a shelf. I would continue the part time job from home that I already had and tack on additional teaching hours to supplement. I would do that as long as I could. As long as it provided. A year later we both admit this was the right choice.
Part of my toughest challenge in this transition was the thought of leaving my kids (obviously). I didn't want to and regardless of how much I had to, I couldn't justify it. But then the time came for me to find additional child care so that I could do my job. And it turns out, I love my job. I really do. In college I hated the idea of teaching. But, what do you know it's not that bad, and I'm actually pretty good at it.
This giant thing happened to us. This huge decision that we made, that we agreed on, that's going to keep us in this small house with a reduced income for 4-5 years, has been a challenge, but oddly enough, not for me as much as I thought.
My husband is a confident man who is good at what he does. But he's made this commitment that puts him in a position to not be able to provide financially for his family in the way he wants and in the way he always has. Sure, in the end it will all be worth it, but right now, it's tough.
The second thing that I did was stop thinking about myself. Yes, my fears of working and leaving my kids was a lot about how my kids would adjust. But deep down it was about me and how I would survive leaving them. It's taken me nearly two years to understand my responsibility. Because of the drastic change of life decisions, I've watched my confident husband, for the first time, doubt himself. It's hard for me b/c this is a side of him that I'm not familiar with. But I've learned how to step up. How to rise to the occasion. We've entered into this period of transition and role reversal. And it's great. He's learning how to be contempt and push through, and I'm learning how to take the reigns.
He asked me the other day if I ever regret his decision to go back to school  b/c of the cut in pay we've taken. I didn't even have to think about it.
My immediate and honest response was "No, not a bit".