Showing posts with label abundance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abundance. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2012

Four Years of NC

 Four years ago today, we arrived in North Carolina with an overloaded minivan an no furniture.  After two weeks of sleeping on the floor and scrambling all over the state for interviews, the moving truck caught up with us.

We moved here on a wish and a prayer, due to one eventful black marker and map coloring session.  We eliminated everywhere we DIDN'T want to be, and all that was left after that was the Pacific Northwest and the Southeastern coast.

We'd never set foot in North Carolina, and didn't know anyone who lived here.  But we'd heard good things about the climate and the culture and the people.  So we took a chance, and made a leap of faith.

(Our wedding was a month after the move.  Memo to self: don't do that again!)   


After a month, we both had temporary jobs, and after living in the south for three months, we'd each found teaching jobs that we loved.  A year later, we'd found a fur baby to fill our lives with laughter.  A year and a half after the move, we purchased our house and began putting down roots in earnest.  It's amazing how time flies, yet at the same time feels sluggish.

Why bother wandering memory lane tonight?  Because my experience moving like that taught me that life tends to work itself out.  Sometimes it takes a leap of faith, and sometimes you fall.  But you never know unless you try, and I am so thankful that I have a partner who was willing to tackle the unknown with me.

Happy home-iversary.  I couldn't be happier in my new home state (even when there's thunder and heat happening outside the window).

What risks have you taken lately?

Friday, March 30, 2012

Indulging in Dreams

Spin the wheel. Luck be a lady. Take a chance. Play the numbers.

Yes, you are correct. For only the second time in my adult life (the first being immediately after turning 18), I bought a lottery ticket.

The woman in the post office is sure she's going to win. My grandma has her ticket. My mom's in a pool at work. So, I figured, why not?

I have been unbearably lucky thus far in my life, and I used to worry that one day I would use it all up. There has to be a quota for Lady Luck, right?

Actually, I don't think so. The more joy and beauty that I welcome into my life, the more these things seem to breed, leaving me happy, healthy, and very, very lucky. So with this freshly altered perspective, I am choosing to believe in abundance and beauty.

But even in dreams, I can't imagine how in the world I (or any other individual) could possibly spend the abundance promised by the current Mega Millions jackpot.

So, as I tend to do, I decided to make a list of possible ways to spend my hypothetical winnings:
1. Student loans
2. Mortgage
3. Buy a beach house
4. Pay off the car
5. Pay back our families
6. Set up a college fund for my siblings
7. Pay off any other lingering bills
8. Set up a retirement fund
9. Pay off any debts our immediate family members may have
10. Give GENEROUSLY to the local food bank and other causes and organizations that I support.

...I'm not even close to a hundred million yet, and I'm out of ideas.

See? That much money is just too much for any one person. Maybe I would form my own Super Pack: I would be the entire pack! That could be fun...

Even if I don't know how I'd spend it, it would be nice to have the right numbers. So, Luck be a Lady tonight!

What would you do with the Mega Millions prize?