Lucky Me

My husband won the lottery. Don’t get too excited; he won $56 on a combination of three scratch-offs. Okay, it’s a lot better than nothing which is what you usually get on these things. It’s even better than a $2.00 winner which essentially allows you to purchase another ticket and lose your money later rather than sooner. But forgive me if I don’t get all rah rah, ya ya, ga ga (he’s also obsessed with Lady Gaga) over it. You see, I need a few more zeroes to get really excited. But not him. He was thrilled. “We won the lottery!”

He said we didn’t win more because, when I scratched off the second of two consecutive cards he purchased, I casually said this one wouldn’t be a winner and he said I was being negative but really, do they ever put two winners in a row? That’s not cynicism; that’s pragmatism. So is there something wrong with me or is there something wrong with him?

My friend Chris recently sent me a link to this Facebook page, “ShitMyDadSays”. My favorite quote was, "No, I'm not a pessimist. At some point the world shits on everybody. Pretending it ain't shit makes you an idiot, not an optimist." I learned tonight that I have been appointed to our local Arts Commission, an appointment that comes packed with the caveat that a member cannot benefit from their position. Right off the bat, this means giving up two potential sources of income, small as they are, and they are small. Isn’t that funny?

Still, it would be so nice to be able to expect good fortune; to somehow catch a break. I admire my husband’s spirit, even if I think he’s slightly insane. I think it’s all that hard work he’s doing, trying to keep us afloat during these difficult times. He’s exhausted and it is well known fact that exhaustion can produce delusions. Which is why, when he called me from work tonight to tell me he’d won the lottery again, I was delighted to learn he’d scratched off another $2.00. As long as he’s happy.