The Lottery

At the gym yesterday, I saw on TV that the lottery was up to 223 million dollars. I immediately started to spend the money.

First we would give $500,000 to a fundraising project I am working on.

Then we would pay off my sister-in-law's house-it's funny that I thought of paying off her house before I even considered our house, but she is the one most in need of money, and I think everyone else's house, besides ours, is paid off.

Then I started thinking about our house. I don't want to leave our neighborhood and move to a fancier neighborhood, or even a fancier town. So I first thought we'd just do our planned renovations, the ones we can't afford. Then I thought maybe we'd buy a bigger place, but stay in the neighborhood. It wasn't till later in the day that I figured out what we'll do: we'll buy out F and L, who are planning on moving within the next few years anyway, and we'll hire our architect friend to redesign the whole house as a one family. With lots of bookshelves and built-ins and skylights in an attic family room. And we'll rent something else while the renovations are being done, so we don't have to suffer.

Cars? Mine is fine, but S could use a new one. Maybe a Prius.

A clothes shopping spree for me and the girls. M wants solid-colored tights, patterned mini-dresses, a jeans mini-skirt, pink pants, bright green Mary Jane clogs, boots, and Marimekko. I want a personal shopper who will come up with exactly the hip, attractive, comfortable clothes I don't even know I want.

A vacation--later, when the girls and I were discussing what we'd do with the money, we decided on the Maldives, where M and I have wanted to go for years.

Put away money for the girls--for college and houses and a general safety net. I'm thinking a million each.

S can open his restaurant in Town without worrying about financing.

Maybe a vacation house.

Then I think we'd pretty much keep enough to live on comfortably and give the rest away. My first two ideas were education and public health (I know, how Gates of me), but then I thought maybe the arts too. I'm a little shocked that I didn't think politics, or the systemic eradication of poverty, but I didn't. I told the girls they could each have some money to give away to whatever they want. M wants to give to a foundation for women's rights and her school. E wants to give to poor people. All three of us want to give to Grown-up M's homeless shelters. We'll give some to Grandma's project too.

I bought seven lottery tickets. By that point it was up to $267 million.

We didn't win.

Easy come, easy go.