What Would You Do If You Won The Lottery?

What would you do if you won the lottery?  I mean the really big one with millions in the triple digits; an absolutely obscene thought in my mind.  I can’t even wrap my brain around what one million dollars would look like in paper money let alone hundreds of millions.

This was the leading topic of conversation for the past week as my work friends and I planned for the day when we could call into to work to let our bosses know that it would be very likely that we would not be coming into work – ever!

While in this dream state I wonder, what would my new reality look like if I won “The Big One?"

Would I really quit my job?  Getting up in the morning with nowhere to go is yet another concept that I can’t quite fathom.  The idea of catching up on my sleep and enjoying a life of leisure would certainly be a terrific change of pace but not in the long term.  I need a goal, an occupation, if you will.  Although the thought of never having to worry about paying a bill, or anything for the matter, would be delightful, I don’t believe that I could find happiness going through life without fulfilling a passion or making a difference on the planet in some way. 

Would I have to drop out of sight?  Somehow I think my favorite trips to the grocery store or the local coffee shop would have to be a thing of the past.  I fear that I would have to leave the community that I love so much to keep my privacy intact and protect the interests of my family.  I envision my phone ringing off the hook and folks ringing my doorbell claiming to be my long lost fifth cousin three times removed.  This dream is beginning to sound like a nightmare.

What about my kids?  I wonder how my children would fare with such a life-changing event.  The picture in my head grows even darker as I imagine my boys wearing gold chains around their necks, gel in their hair and their caps turned backwards looking for the latest and greatest party.  This is beginning to sound like a bad MTV reality show and this mom is none too happy about it. 

Would it change who we are?  Okay, so we’ve paid all the bills, bought a few toys, took a trip and forgot how to use the alarm clock.  Now what?  I suppose that the old saying, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, could ring very true if the big payday actually occurred.  I fear that the person that I have become and that people my kids are becoming would get lost in the capitalistic translation. 

My children come from a very hearty stock.  As far as the eye can see in our combined family trees, my sons can associate will with hardworking immigrants who came to this country with nothing in their pockets and the dream to live a better life than those that came before them.  They worked hard and earned every penny, sometimes under grueling circumstances.  They valued education and instilled in their descendants that there was no shame in working hard and that laziness would not be tolerated.   To them, there was no such thing as something for nothing. 

By the looks of it, I think they may have been right. When the numbers come up this weekend and I discover that I did not win I will be no worse for the wear.  In fact, I think I may have dodged a bullet. 

Today, I separated myself from that dollar bill that would purchase the ticket that my husband often calls the “donation.”  Tomorrow, I will go to work to earn the pay that will help to subsidize the original American Dream that my ancestors before me taught me would give my life meaning and help me to find purpose. 

All in all, it never hurts to dream of being wealthy.  If only for a little while.