Money and Me

  When I opened the door, today, it was to a true-blue day. I was living a new life. All things were great. It was my mind that couldn't keep up. It woke up to the "old" life, the life it had grown comfortable with for over 40 years. But when I opened my front door at 54 Penny Place, I was opening it to almost 4 billion dollars. I would say that changed everything.
I had never been big on playing the lottery or anything that included taking a chance, but my neighbor talked me into giving it a try.
"What can it hurt," she asked. That's all it took and the next thing I knew, I was hooked. I started toying with ideas of what I would do with all the money I might win. When I actually DID win the lottery,
I literally peed myself! It's funny, I didn't feel any different but I was. I belonged to a different sect. I would have to re-program my mind. I had already started. I would never have "need" to contend with again, if I was careful. That was important to me. Life felt incredibly light and, yet, I was drowning in the "what to do with it" syndrome. So far, I had only paid back bills. I hate owing anyone. Until now, I hadn't been able to pay them anything. It felt great strutting into their offices and writing checks to wipe off old debts.
I was almost afraid to spend any on myself. I asked myself what I needed the most. My eyes settled on the old jalopy I drove. I winced. I liked the car. I knew it was an eyesore, but we had this understanding. I guess she'll have to go, after all, she was nearly 20 years old.
I got dressed and determined to drive to the Mercedes dealership. Mercedes has always been my dream car. It didn't take long to choose a nice sedan I particularly liked. I handed them cash money, which I had drawn from the bank on my way over. I was very nonchalant about it. You should have seen their faces.
(I nearly died laughing all the way home.) I hurried the business along and then settled down into plush luxury. The purchase didn't make much of a dent in my fortune.
Once home, I realized the car was out of place parked in front of my simple, small brick home. It out-classed it by a country mile. Finding the right place was going to take time. Ideas and visions flooded my head.
I had 9 calls on my answering machine. Yesterday, there had been 12. It seems like I have more friends than I used to. It seems like family and friends are crawling out of the woodwork. I erased the calls. It wasn't long, however, before they were beating down the front and back doors. Rather hard to ignore. Every body had a sob story. I gave a few of them money. I found a God-fearing church and a healthy charity to pay tithes and offerings to. That eat into my money but I felt really good about it. I still had plenty.
I searched for several weeks before finding a modest but unique house. I paid cash for it and furnished it lavishly. I wanted for nothing. I finally decided to splurge on myself, buying new clothes, shoes and hats. I had a facial and a new hair style.
It was a lot of fun. I could easily get used to this.
I must remember this money CAN run out.
I wanted to go on a Carribean cruise before settling down in my new home. I decided to take my mom.
We were gone for 11 days. It was magnificent. The sights were outstanding. The people were fun and friendly. We relaxed. We video-taped the entire cruise and laughed as we watched it together.
Once settled in, I bought the most expensive toy poodle I could find. She was so tiny, she didn't even fill up my hand. Her markings were black and white. I bought her for companionship and she worked out just fine. She owned my heart. Her antics kept me amused.
I knew I had a great deal of money left. I kept a close eye on it. I bought great Christmas and birthday gifts for family and friends. I wrote checks to charities that sponsered needy children because they were my passion. Then, I became sick. It was lung cancer. The doctors and hospitals took a great deal of the money. Yet, still there was a nice nest egg left.
I felt when the end was near and summoned a lawyer to draw up my will. I wanted my frugal mother to have it.
She had been with me through every minute of the cancer. She was holding my hand when I left to go to God.