52 Weeks: Week 46

I just couldn't resist! I know...the chances are extremely slim. But you know what they say: you have to play to win! Just a few dollars for a few numbers...maybe a waste, but no more so than a cup of coffee or other treat. Did you see how big it is now? Over 200 million! After taxes, that is still a HUGE sum! Maybe someone will win, or maybe it will roll over: isn't it nice to dream? I would never go crazy and spend a lot of money on these things. I know my life will probably continue on the exact same path tomorrow as it is on today. I know that I am but one of MANY who hope, wish, and dream about it. But, oh...wouldn't that make things so much better? I know, I know...lots of winners have cautionary tales to tell. It never turns out the way you dreamed it would. Sometimes the bad elements outweight the good elements in some of these situations. But...

What would I do? What's the harm in dreaming, right? First: pay off the darn mortgage on the house we are trying to sell so we are free to go without worrying about finances and credit. In this slow housing market, and with the cost of living as it is, we feel stuck until we can sell the house and get out from under the mortgage. We still would need to sell it, but at least we wouldn't have to worry about monthly expenses due to paying for a house we no longer lived in. It would mean so much freedom! Being stuck with a house you want to sell, and postponing a move to a new city and new life because of it...ugh! I wish I could afford to just GO!! Winning the lottery would allow us to do just that: GO! Only finances are holding us back from a new and better life for my entire family. Oh, that would be SO nice to be free from that kind of worry!

Second: buy a red convertible Mustang! Simple enough, compared to the expensive cars many people buy. But it is my "middle-class dream car" and being able to buy it would be awesome! Maybe later I would add a Porsche to my list, but for now, the Mustang would be my dream come true! I would enjoy driving it all over Florida with the wind in my hair! :)

Then: we would complete our planned move, move into a comfortable place in Florida (nothing outrageous/probably something we were looking at before having more money), and live our lives pretty much the way we were planning beforehand. There will be upcoming expenses in the future: new wardrobe for everyone, some technology such as laptops and cell phones, some medical and dental expenses. The rest would be put away for college/retirement/other. We will still work hard to earn a living: hopefully doing things that truly interest us. Just knowing that there is money in the bank to back us up in times of trouble, or money to use for an occasional vacation or other splurge...that would be nice.

I wonder if that's how most people feel: wouldn't want to spend it all on extravagant things, just want to experience the comfort of never again worrying about finances. Oh, what a feeling! To pay the bills as they come in, never again worrying about being able to cover them. To pay the unexpected costs as they are incurred without panicking or accumulating large debts. Can you imagine? Only a very small percentage of Americans can say they live that way. The wealthy often overspend and still have to think about money a lot of the time. The poor are always worrying and struggling to pay for basic needs. The middle class often "just get by" and always worry about what looms around the corner that could completely wipe them out. I would LOVE to have just enough to ease those worries. Maybe I would even be able to share this feeling with others by helping them out (but not to the point of being back to square one of worrying all the time again). THAT is what I would do! I would live my next 40 or 50 years, working hard and enjoying life just as I planned...but having that kind of money put away for safety and security issues, and to be able to turn to it when a little extra cash is needed...that sounds like heaven on earth! Wouldn't that be nice! :)

So tonight, I'll watch them draw the numbers, and I'll look at mine to see if they match. The odds against it are tremendous, but sometimes people DO win! So how will I approach it: positive thinking or a dose of realism? Well, if positive thinking means imagining and believing that it will happen, envisioning life as if it happened, and thinking that I have as good of a chance as everyone else does: I choose to have that kind of attitude. If realism means being skeptical and speaking negatively about my chances: nope, I think I'll pass on that. SO...just like everyone else, I will think that I have the numbers...until I don't. And I will spend the next few hours imagining life free of worry, at least from financial issues. Tomorrow, I will still do everything I planned to do, no matter what happens. My future will stay on the same path...but it sure would be nice to have a calming peace of mind as I walk down that road! Here's to good luck! :)

52 Weeks: Week 45

Well, I now have a son in high school and a daughter two years younger, so the idea of making college plans has now entered the arena. As school gets back into swing and things like football games become routine, I have been thinking about my own high school and college days. I no longer own any shirts with my high school logos, but I do still have some from my college. I would like to protect my privacy, so I won't be too specific...but this picture is of me wearing a shirt from my alma mater. Actually, I attended several colleges and universities...I started at one my freshman year, transferred to another one for my sophomore year, transferred back to my original college for my junior and senior years, and went to another one for graduate school. And there are a few "dream colleges" that I WISH I had attended...I toured them, applied, was accepted...but choices must be made. Sometimes cost and location, as well as other factors, can influence those kind of decisions. I went where I received the MOST scholarships and financial aid...plus, I went where some of my relatives had attended in the past. One of my favorites was just too expensive...PLUS it was on the other side of the country from my friends, family, and boyfriend. Sometimes I wish I had been able to work something out there, though...I will always wonder what my life would have been like if I HAD attended my "all-time favorite dream school." I still keep up with what is happening there and I consider myself a "friend of the university." Actually, I am much more likely to support fundraisers for my "dream school" than I would be for the places I actually attended. But it all worked out: I DID receive my degree, and then later an advanced degree...that matters MORE than where I actually attended in the early days. Now that my kids are nearing this stage in life, I am thinking...do I "root for the home team" of my real schools, or do I try to sell them on my "dream school"? Ultimately, where they go is up to THEM...THEY will choose THEIR own "dream schools." BUT...part of me secretly hopes that one of them chooses the one I so love...then I could at LEAST be the parent of a student since I wasn't able to be a student there myself. Then maybe it wouldn't feel so silly rooting for a school that I never attended...just one I WISH I had! It would feel a lot better rooting for that school if I was the parent of a student who ACTUALLY attended there. SO...sometime in the future, we may have to arrange a campus tour just to see what they think. They may love it, they may not...but I am betting that they will be swept off of their feet as much as I was back then! It really is a FABULOUS place to be, and I imagine it would be an awesome experience for them. No, I can't live vicariously through them, BUT...if they just so happen to be there and like it as much as I did... Now I find myself really reading up on the whole college experience. I hope they make the most of it and don't get sidetracked like I did. I eventually got back on track, and I even took a further track later in life...but sometimes I wonder...WHAT IF? Too bad they don't have a PhD program in my field there, or I might consider going there in MY future! BUT...there IS a school not too far away that DOES have an excellent PhD program for me. Think they'd resent me following them off to college? Yeah, probably would...I know I wanted to be on my own and away from my parents when I was that age! So who knows...but one can dream! :)

52 Weeks: Week 44

"When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." This really seems to apply to my family lately. Our house is on the market, but this is probably the WORST housing market America has seen in a long time! We NEED to sell our home soon so that we can move, but our home is just one of MANY on the market, and not much is selling...at least not very quickly. Add to that, a recent job interview proved to NOT be the right one, so the options are narrowing. AND...the plan to move during the summer and start school in Florida just did NOT materialize...my teens just started school this past week. My daughter is in middle school, but she tells everyone that she is moving to Florida SOON! My son had to start his high school years here...the plan was to be in Florida for the first day of his four-year high school experience. BUT...sometimes the timing isn't always perfect, yet it can STILL work out in the end. Since they are starting school a few weeks earlier than they would in Florida, I will let them have those few weeks back after we move in order to even out the schedule. If we stay here until the end of the first quarter or first semester, they wouldn't start school in Florida until the first day of the new quarter or semester. That means a few weeks off to get settled...not as good as a longer summer vacation, but it could work out to be a good thing. If we move after first quarter, they will have a few weeks off in October. If we move after first semester, they will have a few weeks off in January. Those could be great times to be out of school in Florida! :) Anyway, things are still looking positive even if our timing is off a bit. We are all still very much looking forward to our new lives as Floridians. So...the door may have closed for now, but a window will open in the future. The door here WILL close, and the window there WILL open...we just have to be patient and keep the faith. We're trying! :)

52 Weeks: Week 43

I think I can hear the ocean from here! I bought this conch shell in Florida over 20 years ago, and I love to display it every summer as I relive my many memories of the beautiful beaches in Florida. Things are progressing slowly but surely as we work toward moving there soon. I wish we were already there, but I can almost feel the ocean breezes, smell the salty air, and hear the roar of the waves as I prepare for a new lifestyle as a Floridian. I am SO excited! I can't wait!