Much like everyone else on the planet, J and I threw our hats (and a couple of bucks) into the Powerball ring this week.
Having no actual belief that we’d win, it still bought us a couple of good solid hours of dreaming and conversations together (which is always well worth a couple of bucks to me.)
We’re very practical people.
It started with the hiring of lawyers and accountants and trying our best to stay anonymous. And then we moved on to the not-at-all-glamorous checklist—the same list that I’m assuming most everyone has: pay the bills; buy some reliable vehicles; set up the college and savings plans for the kids; give some to the extended family.
And once you realize that that doesn’t even put the smallest of dents into a jackpot of that size, you move on to the next level. Set up some foundations. Some endowments and scholarships—big chunk gifts to the places that have influenced who we are.
Ok…so that’s like, what….about 20-30 million down? Only 1.2 billion left. Good. Now then. What’s next?
As we started to talk we realized that there really wasn’t a whole lot that was left that we could immediately point to as “what I’d do with the cash.” Other than us buying a house so that we could settle down (and by the way, we would still likely be looking for that old, slight-fixer-up Victorian that we are looking for now), there were no real *big* purchases that we had. We don’t need a jet or a yacht. A couple reliable cars and a house. I’m not buying any furs. I hate shoes and purses. I don’t wear much jewelry. Old Navy still sells my favorite jeans for $20.
Charity, family, and the necessities.
We would probably travel. There are places we would like to go. But, not a ton that we haven’t visited already. And none that we can’t still do in our lives—none that are prohibitively expensive that we couldn’t probably save up for and do someday if we really wanted it. We’re not trying to go to the moon or anything.
We might buy tickets to SEE more stuff. I don’t see myself being able to get to the Kennedy Center Honors anytime soon, but that’s a ticket I’d shell out some serious cash for (In a related story…DC friends…how does one get a seat at that thing? Not that I’ll likely ever get there, but I would be very interested in knowing what it takes. Especially next year when the Eagles get the nod. Just asking…)
I’d probably see Ben Folds more than I already do.
I’d probably see my friends who are scattered around the country more than I do.
I might go back to school for another degree that I’ve been jonsing for for a while.
But I wouldn’t quit my job. (Well, let me rephrase that. I wouldn’t stop working.) J would DEFINITELY have to keep working, or he’d lose his mind. Kids would still go to school every day. And do their chores to earn their allowance. We’d probably still make them find a way to finance their own college, just like we’re planning to do now.
It occurred to us, that we’re pretty set in our ways. After years and years of counting pennies and working pretty damned hard for what we’ve got, it would take a pretty massive paradigm shift for us to behave differently. And neither of us saw that happening. We like where we are, what we’ve accomplished, and what we call our own.
This was an interesting life lesson to stumble upon this week. Because, my friends, this week I turn 40. Yes. 4-0. Mid-life crisis land. The turning point in ones’ life. The official mark of “more of my life is likely gone than what I have left.” (Ouch.) This paired with someone asking me this week if Liam was my grandson (yup…that happened) had me really thinking about whether or not I was going to follow ye’ olde crowd, indulge a mid-life crisis and like, cut off all my hair and start a 3-times-a-day eye cream regiment to stave off the aging process.
But then it occurred to me that I like where I am. I do try to live each day to its fullest. I don’t have regrets in my life (at least over which I have had any personal control. I wish I would have had more time with Mom. I wish my Dad would have met his namesake. But those are not things I get to be in charge of.) But the other stuff--it's all brought us where we are. I could talk about mistakes I've made...better choices that I likely could have made. But a la "11.22.63" what would changing something in my past do to my today? Would it be worth it? Would I be in this wonderful place now if not for those screw ups? Probably not. And definitely not worth going back to change. I'll go ahead and take my battle scars and laugh lines, thanks.
My beautiful husband, whom I believe daily I do not deserve, and I have a good life. A comfortable life. A happy life. We have beautiful children and lovely friends and reliable family. We have enough to be able to do what we need, but not so much that we don’t appreciate what we have. I’ve seen amazing things in the world and traveled more than most. I have been able to attend schools that have challenged me and have provided for me a terminal degree and a career I enjoy and appreciate. And I have no reason to believe that more blessings aren’t in store for me in the days and years to come.
So, we didn’t win the Powerball and I turn 40. I guess both of these things are ok. Because at the end of the day, I realized that I don’t really need for much. And I have a pretty great life. And I'm doing good things. And I’ve got really good days ahead.
No Powerball or mid-life crisis necessary.
Having no actual belief that we’d win, it still bought us a couple of good solid hours of dreaming and conversations together (which is always well worth a couple of bucks to me.)
We’re very practical people.
It started with the hiring of lawyers and accountants and trying our best to stay anonymous. And then we moved on to the not-at-all-glamorous checklist—the same list that I’m assuming most everyone has: pay the bills; buy some reliable vehicles; set up the college and savings plans for the kids; give some to the extended family.
And once you realize that that doesn’t even put the smallest of dents into a jackpot of that size, you move on to the next level. Set up some foundations. Some endowments and scholarships—big chunk gifts to the places that have influenced who we are.
Ok…so that’s like, what….about 20-30 million down? Only 1.2 billion left. Good. Now then. What’s next?
As we started to talk we realized that there really wasn’t a whole lot that was left that we could immediately point to as “what I’d do with the cash.” Other than us buying a house so that we could settle down (and by the way, we would still likely be looking for that old, slight-fixer-up Victorian that we are looking for now), there were no real *big* purchases that we had. We don’t need a jet or a yacht. A couple reliable cars and a house. I’m not buying any furs. I hate shoes and purses. I don’t wear much jewelry. Old Navy still sells my favorite jeans for $20.
Charity, family, and the necessities.
We would probably travel. There are places we would like to go. But, not a ton that we haven’t visited already. And none that we can’t still do in our lives—none that are prohibitively expensive that we couldn’t probably save up for and do someday if we really wanted it. We’re not trying to go to the moon or anything.
We might buy tickets to SEE more stuff. I don’t see myself being able to get to the Kennedy Center Honors anytime soon, but that’s a ticket I’d shell out some serious cash for (In a related story…DC friends…how does one get a seat at that thing? Not that I’ll likely ever get there, but I would be very interested in knowing what it takes. Especially next year when the Eagles get the nod. Just asking…)
I’d probably see Ben Folds more than I already do.
I’d probably see my friends who are scattered around the country more than I do.
I might go back to school for another degree that I’ve been jonsing for for a while.
But I wouldn’t quit my job. (Well, let me rephrase that. I wouldn’t stop working.) J would DEFINITELY have to keep working, or he’d lose his mind. Kids would still go to school every day. And do their chores to earn their allowance. We’d probably still make them find a way to finance their own college, just like we’re planning to do now.
It occurred to us, that we’re pretty set in our ways. After years and years of counting pennies and working pretty damned hard for what we’ve got, it would take a pretty massive paradigm shift for us to behave differently. And neither of us saw that happening. We like where we are, what we’ve accomplished, and what we call our own.
This was an interesting life lesson to stumble upon this week. Because, my friends, this week I turn 40. Yes. 4-0. Mid-life crisis land. The turning point in ones’ life. The official mark of “more of my life is likely gone than what I have left.” (Ouch.) This paired with someone asking me this week if Liam was my grandson (yup…that happened) had me really thinking about whether or not I was going to follow ye’ olde crowd, indulge a mid-life crisis and like, cut off all my hair and start a 3-times-a-day eye cream regiment to stave off the aging process.
But then it occurred to me that I like where I am. I do try to live each day to its fullest. I don’t have regrets in my life (at least over which I have had any personal control. I wish I would have had more time with Mom. I wish my Dad would have met his namesake. But those are not things I get to be in charge of.) But the other stuff--it's all brought us where we are. I could talk about mistakes I've made...better choices that I likely could have made. But a la "11.22.63" what would changing something in my past do to my today? Would it be worth it? Would I be in this wonderful place now if not for those screw ups? Probably not. And definitely not worth going back to change. I'll go ahead and take my battle scars and laugh lines, thanks.
My beautiful husband, whom I believe daily I do not deserve, and I have a good life. A comfortable life. A happy life. We have beautiful children and lovely friends and reliable family. We have enough to be able to do what we need, but not so much that we don’t appreciate what we have. I’ve seen amazing things in the world and traveled more than most. I have been able to attend schools that have challenged me and have provided for me a terminal degree and a career I enjoy and appreciate. And I have no reason to believe that more blessings aren’t in store for me in the days and years to come.
So, we didn’t win the Powerball and I turn 40. I guess both of these things are ok. Because at the end of the day, I realized that I don’t really need for much. And I have a pretty great life. And I'm doing good things. And I’ve got really good days ahead.
No Powerball or mid-life crisis necessary.
