The Lottery

When Jarod and I were in college. We played the lottery. Not often. Maybe twice. Only when the pot was over two hundred million. Every Saturday night after our shift at the coffee shop (when our week had been too long, night too late, and we were pumped full of coffee and sugar) we would drive by the billboard with our “megabucks” pot info. And we'd talk about it all the way home. And then – when it was over 150 million we would write down a list of what we would do with the money. Because here's my thinking – You don't want to win the lottery UNPREPARED. So when we bought our tickets it was with itemized list in hand (adjusted of course for tax – leaving us with $74 million). Every single dollar was planned out and we could not deviate because there could be nothing worse than letting good fortune ruin a perfectly average life. I'm that practical.

Yesterday, I spent the second day of 2013 cleaning out the 35 year untouched attic of Bethesda Place. I had dirty dusty David by my side and the youth of Bethesda's next door neighbor, Mary, pushing all the way. It was a beautifully productive time and we found literally THOUSANDS of mason jars and THOUSANDS of empty wood boxes. There are parts for 20 broken wooden chairs and enough nails to build another house – and the story – in pieces -of the hundreds of projects the men have tried over the years. And I just kept thinking: What do you do with Mason jars, empty boxes, six handicapped guys and the girl from next door?

What do you do with Mason jars, empty boxes, six handicapped guys and the girl from next door?

We have some trees too. Thousands.
And garden hoses... other hoses too... lots of hoses. And pipe.
We have bows and arrows and BB guns.  Magnetic fishing game poles.

And good health. Other than the 3 weeks of winter illnesses that cycle through. We have unbelievably good health.

We have the collective knowledge of my parents – who survived 42 years of marriage and 32 years at Bethesda against all odds. We have them to draw on.

We have two random (quirky) men who are willing to help us keep the guys happy and healthy.

We have a childhood friend who is in this thing for the long haul.

And the kids. They crack us up. They are always good for a laugh.

And of course the students – we learn something new every day. Some days – more than one thing. But those days can be a bit much.

And we have each other. And the handicapped guys are really the best in the world. Really.

SO... What do you do with A LOT of mason jars, empty boxes, six handicapped guys and the girl from next door?

I won this lottery. It's amazing.

And I am totally unprepared.

But I promise Nic... we are going to do something cool.

 I know you would have.