What's On Your Dream Lottery List?

I have been spending money all day...... in my head. I bought a lottery ticket. The jackpot is 132 million dollars, and all I had to spend to have a chance to win it was $1.  I spent the money even though I felt guilty about gambling.  If I do not have a single number in the winning combination of digits, the money was well spent.  It helped me create a plan.

People who buy lottery tickets (and even those who don't) play a game where they spend the entire fortune in their heads.  We buy cars and houses and trips.  We donate thousands to charities.  We pay off the debts of our family members.  We settle our own finances, and we decide if we enjoy our jobs enough to keep working. Then, when we do not win, we go about our business.  If you are like me, this entire day of entertainment cost a dollar or absolutely nothing.  It's harmless fun. However, if you take the time to look at your dream list, you might have the same realization that I did today. I can do most of this without winning the lottery.

I want to go to Paris.  Since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of walking the streets of Paris, wandering in and out of the shops, sitting in a sidewalk cafe, standing in front of the Mona Lisa and Rodin's Thinker, and simply experiencing the culture.  This is my dream.  Why have I not been there yet?  Life.  Bills.  Work. If I won the lottery, I would immediately plan a trip there.  I realized today that I do not have to hit the jackpot to go. I need to save for it, to plan for it, to make my dream come true without a single stroke of luck.  I can do this for myself because when Taylor leaves for basics, I am responsible for only me.  I can make my dream come true.

That realization alone is powerful. It made me look closer at the other items on my list. I would buy a new car.  Start saving.  I would buy a beach house.  Renting one for a long weekend is more in my budget but I give myself permission to do this which makes me smile.  I should give more to charities based on my salary now. I should treat my parents to little things now to make their lives a little easier. I love my job and would do it even if I didn't need the money.  What a joy to know this. I do not need to win the lottery to make a difference.  I need to do the things on my list in moderation.

What would you do if you won the lottery? What is on your dream lottery list? How can you start moving toward those goals right now?  Get busy... I'm heading to Paris... as soon as I save the money.

It May Be Time...

I realized yesterday that it may be time for a new car...  The state convention for Student Council is being held in Charleston this weekend.  Since I drive a small car, I made plans to drive the larger vehicle of a retired teacher who is currently driving a truck all over the nation with her husband.  However, since she is gone for most of the time and her grand-daughter needed a vehicle to drive, the SUV is in use.  To use the Tahoe, I need to switch cars with Sarah.  I cannot do this. My car is old and has issues.  It has to be driven using certain tricks.  I would never, ever want anyone else to HAVE to drive my car.  The realization of that small truth made me think... Why do I think I have to drive this car?

I have had my car since 1999.  It was new then, and I was excited to have finally purchased a car in the same year that it was released.  The Toyota Corolla has been a wonderful car. It's good on gas which is so important now that gas costs over $3/gallon. It is small and easy to maneuver which is wonderful when I get lost and need to turn around quickly.  This happens more than it should. It has safely delivered Taylor and me to numerous soccer games, track meets, and vacations.  It has been where Taylor napped and played on the drive cross country to visit the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, down the coast to meet Mickey Mouse, and to the beach to work on the perfect tan.  My mom has told me over and over to not drive the car long distances since it is getting older, and yet the Corolla has been the perfect car on trips to Ohio, Indiana, and Florida. Wherever I needed to go, she took me.

There's more to it than that, of course.  I bought the car when Taylor was 6 years old. It is the car he rode to school in every single day from first grade until he began to drive. Taylor's childhood is wrapped up in the car. There are probably hundreds of fries crushed into the seat cushions.  Army men probably lie in wait for the little soldier to return, not yet realizing that the little boy who pretended to defend the world is actually poised to go do just that in real-life. The back seat is stained with red gatorade, sunscreen, and melted crayons. When Taylor was in elementary school, there were always clothes, shin guards, and toys covering the back seat. When he was in middle school, the toys became books; the shin guards were traded for running shoes.  There were always clothes in the back seat. High school led to Taylor driving, and my back seat holds simply history books, a discarded coat or two of mine, and memories.

Is it time to move on? Probably... The car is old and quirky. The drivers' side door does not open from the outside.  The rod that is inside the door is no longer connected.  Taylor and his dad fixed it the first time it broke. When it broke a second time, I decided to just deal with it rather than to ask my ex-husband to fix it again. It is not like I have to struggle to open the door; I simply open it from the passenger side or crack my window to open it.  The car also has a rattle.  I'm not sure what causes the noise, but it goes away if you put the car in neutral at red lights and stop signs. Taylor says the car is a beater which means it is a wreck.  Did I mention that his childhood is in the car though?

I am looking at cars though.  I really like the Kia Sorento and the Kia Sol.  My eye is drawn to them on the road.  Maybe I'll take a test drive...  Maybe I'll take the leap...  Afterall, it really may be time to let go of a few things...