Sweetheart and I got our customary Christmas gift from my daughter again this year. It has been the custom for the last five years.
I think she gets us scratch-off lottery tickets because she thinks that we have reached the age when there is nothing new that we want, need, or can use. She’s right, of course. However, scratching off lottery tickets has its pros and cons for me.
If I don’t win, I don’t want to play. It’s the same way with playing Bingo. That’s why I don’t buy lottery tickets and it’s why I don’t play Bingo. I don’t mind playing if I don’t have to put out my own money to do it. But, I still want to win.
After all, who wants to be a loser? Not me.
A couple of weeks ago, Sweetheart and I went to the Christmas party at the senior center. There is always a table with dozens of door prizes waiting to be claimed. At the end of the meal, tickets with our names on them are drawn.
Now, there is not a doggone thing on that table that I want, need, or can use. Yet, I want to win something. I want to be a winner. I don’t want to be a loser.
If I won something, I would probably give it away or donate it back to the senior center for a door prize sometime in the future.
I guess that winning makes me feel special, blessed, and important. It’s a bolster to my spirits.
It’s the same way with winning a game or solving a puzzle. Well, I guess I have more control over that, but it’s still fun to win. It still makes me feel special.
What makes the whole thing so important? Is it the element of surprise, perhaps? Is it the fun of getting something for nothing? Is it the fact that you didn’t have to work for it?
There’s something to be said for working. A person who works will always get something of value in return. He/she will get paid money, of course, although there will be little anticipation about how much it will be.
Being gainfully employed can make a person feel important, special and blessed. That can make anyone a winner.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or make a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com