Tuesday Ten

Ten Things I'd Do If I Won the Lottery

1. Build our dream house. In the country, with room for the kids to run, and a place to plant a garden and a berry patch, and space to raise bees and chickens. And trees.

2. Start a farm stand. My sisters and I could have a farm stand at the Farmer's Market. Busy Farm sis could get up early in the morning to set up, I could sell the stuff because I don't mind talking to strangers, and Irie sis could give a 5-minute massage to anyone buying more than four dozen eggs. When my farm sister first brought up the idea of a farm stand she said, "We could call it Three Sisters." I'd make fun of her-- I mean, it doesn't get more original than that, does it?-- but that was the first name I thought of myself.

3. Buy books. In my dream house, I'd have a library of my very own, a whole room just for books. Nah, I guess not. Don't get me wrong, I'll bet I'd spend a lot of money on books. But lately I've been wondering....maybe, just maybe, it's possible to have too many books. Regular trips to the library seem to satisfy our craving for new books to read. I can request books from the library so that I don't have to drive downtown to get a book I'd like to read. In the last year or so I've gotten more choosy about the books we add to our shelves.

4. Travel. And with lottery dollars in my pocket I'll bet I could travel with a lot more than a change of underwear and a spoon.

5. Rent a cabin on a lake for an entire summer. I've always thought those old-fashioned vacations where Mom takes the kids to a rustic cabin for the entire summer, and Dad works in the city and comes up on the weekends sound so idyllic. We'd swim all day, roast marshmallows at night. It's probably been in the back of my mind all week because our neighbors went to visit the lakes where the kids' grandfather used to spend his summers. I think I'd rather wait until the kids can all swim well, though.

6. Drive cross-country. We could afford to take our time meandering across the country and still afford to stay in hotels if we won the lottery. Another trip for when the kids are older. Can you imagine trying to take that kind of trip with a kid who's potty training? Eeek!

7. Share. Wouldn't it be fun, just once, to be a kind of wish fairy?

Need a washer and dryer? There you go.

New car? Done.

Let's all go to Disneyworld!

Here's a check, go and spend it on something.

I'd share my winnings with my family. (Unless I actually win the lottery, in which case you all had better keep your greedy mitts to yourselves.)

8. Hire a housekeeper. Someone to come every day to cook and clean. "Aaaah," I sighed to loving husband. "Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to cook for us and then clean up afterward?" But alas, instead of being spoiled and idle, our lives are filled with meaningful work, giving us direction and purpose.

9. And a gardener. Someone to mow and weed, that would be dandy.

10. Give it away. Not all of it, I'm not that selfless. But I've come to realize that we are so blessed. Unimaginably so. We're healthy, we've got food to eat and clean water and a lovely home. When it comes down to it, we don't really need anything more than what we've got.

Not that it's likely that we'll ever win. We don't play the lottery. But still, it's nice to dream, isn't it?