How Would Your Life Change?
I get the Absolute Write weekly newsletter. It’s a newsletter about freelance writing. And Jenna (the author) includes writing prompts in her newsletter. This weeks writing prompt is…
You suddenly have more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime. How will your lifestyle change, and what will stay the same?
I’m kind of a daydreamer. My life tends to get kind of crazy and I am always on the go. I am one of those people who always procrastinates. I wrote my term papers the night before they were due. Last term I had a guided self study Accounting II class. All assignments for the first half of the course were due by the midterm and all of the assignments for the second half of the course were due by the final. So guess when I completed the assignments. Yep, frantically the night before the midterm and the final. I work better under pressure.
So between work and school and laundry and attending the kids’ baseball games and school performances and fifth grade picnics and field and track and whatever else, sometimes it’s nice to just escape. In my house there isn’t really a quiet room so my escape is in my car from home (or preschool) to work and back. Or after the kids are in bed at my computer, writing, reading blogs or designing websites. Or in bed with all the lights out and only my thoughts.
So this writing prompt was very interesting to me. How would my life change if I had all the money I would ever need. Well first of all, I would quit my job. In a heartbeat. I’d give a two week notice though. I don’t want to be a heartless bitch afterall.
I would also spend more time with the kids and at their schools. I would help in the IMC (library), going on the field trips, assisting the teachers, planning the special events, whatever they needed me for. I wouldn’t miss a single soccer, basketball, baseball, whatever game. I would check the kids’ school bags every single night. I would help more with homework. I would read bedtime stories every single night. I would spend more time at the park or at Chuck E Cheese or the Playstation and Planet X.
See, I work because I have to, not because I want to. It wasn’t always like that. I started out with the best of intentions. I went to college to be either a genetic engineer or a geriatrian. But then my plans changed and I dropped out. It wasn’t until I dropped out of school that I got my very first job. At Wendy’s. Working at Wendy’s was the kick in the pants I needed to go back to school. I made $4.75 an hour. I thought I was so cool because I made $.10 more then minimum wage. Woo hoo. I was rolling in the dough. However, that dough wasn’t paying the bills.
And then Keaton entered my world and I knew minimum wage would never again cut it. So I went back to school. Only at Kirkwood this time. Since I had a baby to care for I went to school full-time and worked part-time. But that still wasn’t paying the bills to I switched to part-time school and full-time work. I was working as an admin at a brokerage firm and I seemed to be good at it. Both of my parents work with computer so I guess I just couldn’t stay away from these machines. It’s in my blood. So I decided to change my major to Business Administration. I was already doing it so it just made sense to get my degree in it.
In the beginning, I had these plans to be this great female executive and show my kids how a woman really can do it all. Work and family and all. I thought I would be such a great role model as they watched me go to work every day and loving every minute of it. Teaching them the lesson that hard work really does pay off. But what I didn’t understand back them was that hard work doesn’t mean working behind a desk sixty hours a week. And you don’t have to have a full time job, making lots of money to be a good role model.
As I get older my definition of success has changed. I don’t want to be an executive. I am thrilled that many women are climbing the corporate ladder. We have more female business owners now then ever before. And I think that’s fantastic. But I don’t want that for me. I don’t think I ever really wanted that. I just wanted to be rich and able to buy whatever I wanted. Living in a big house. Driving an expensive car. But as time goes on you start to realize that it’s not all about money. It’s actually not about money at all. It’s about family and love and sharing and warm hugs and sloppy kisses. And I’d rather be doing something creative; writing or drawing or websites. Something I was passionate about. Something that would allow me more time with my family.
I don’t have all of the money in the world. However, I do have just enough to be happy. Not deliriously happy, but happy. I have enough to take care of my family the best I can. I have enough to provide for them and give them a safe home. I have enough to put three plus meals on the table every day. I have enough to have fun with my family. Not DisneyWorld fun, but park and bike riding and kite flying fun. God gives us enough to get by. It’s up to us to make the best of it. We have to make the most of what we have.
