Winning the lottery

A few days ago, I woke up with this intriguing phrase in my head: “… and that’s how I won the lottery.”

Interesting, especially since I am generally against spending money on lottery tickets. (“Tax on idiots” is a pretty good phrase, although I do understand the whole escapism thing, and it’s probably a lot cheaper than booze on a weekly basis, and more legal than drugs. LOL.)

Anyway, I decided to buy a ticket, just this once – just in case.

And then, for the first time in many years, I thought about what it would be like to have 12 million dollars. The first thing I would do is hire a cleaning service for my apartment, I think. Then pay off my brother’s mortgage. (My parents’ too, if they haven’t already done so.) I’d send my mom on an Alaskan cruise with her best friend. And I could finally travel to Europe and visit my dear friend Wendy in New Zealand. Maybe I would buy a house of my own, too – a house with windows in the kitchen! (Yes, I’ve been living in apartments a bit too long …) And DEFINITELY with a garden. And trees. I’d want to do something for Alan (one of my dearest, truest friends) and his wife, Jennifer. I even fantasized about bribing one of my favourite profs to stop smoking in return for a large wad of cash for his kids’ education fund. :)

But mostly I wanted to make the money work for people in need. The food banks are hard-hit these days, and I’d want to make a generous donation there. Then I thought about how patrons of food banks might need holistic health care, and how I could underwrite a health clinic for them that would give them access to naturopaths and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. And then I wondered if there was a way I could get another such clinic in Toronto’s Sick Kids’ Hospital. I thought how fantastic and life-changing it would be for these people and families in need to get that kind of care.

I also thought about how much I would like to encourage organic gardening and farming in and around Toronto – and wondered how I could do so (perhaps by funding more community gardens?).

And then I thought about how much work it would take to organize and administer such things. Definitely something I’d want to hire someone else to do, and I know the person I’d want running these things (she’s my financial adviser, and someone I have the utmost respect for). But still, I’d want to be in there, trying to outline my vision and ensure that it was being met.

And then I’d need an accountant to audit everything. I wouldn’t want to waste a single opportunity.

I’d definitely quit my part-time job, but even as a millionaire, I’d want to stay in the program I’m in. Which would mean the trips to Europe and New Zealand would have to wait another 3 – 5 years anyway.

The money would be handy to pay for my education, and the first year or two of starting my practice after graduation. With the extra cash, I could order take-out food or have a cleaning service come in when I was studying, without worrying about my budget.

I might be able to afford tickets to the symphony, but I really wouldn’t have time to attend one until after I graduate.

And then I thought of the mail I’d get from strangers pleading for money, or the friends/relatives who might expect handouts. I thought of how I might wonder if people liked me for me, or for my money.

All this to say that I’d come to the conclusion that I would really be trading one set of problems/challenges for another.

And maybe THAT is how I came to “win” the lottery.