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| Three years after deciding to attend college in Oregon I married the spouse. That one decision changed the course of my life. |
One of my favorite bloggers, Mr. London Street, recently wrote about wanting his life to be a movie. He wanted snappy dialog, memorable settings, and atmosphere. He, of course, is the hero in his movie. Since I spent yesterday traveling home from Austin, I had lots of time sitting on airplanes and in the terminals for my mind to wander. I found myself pondering the turning points in life and wishing that there was a soundtrack that would clue me in when I was about to make a momentous decision. The music would rise and I would know that I was about to be eaten by a shark or make a life changing decision.
I don't need a soundtrack to decide if I'm having cheerios or mini-wheat's for breakfast, but I can think of numerous times when a music cue would have given me more time to think through an opportunity before making a decision. Often my first response is to say no. Usually, with more thought, I can see the opportunities that saying yes can provide.
It's funny to think about the small decisions that can change everything. After high school I left California for college in Oregon. I'd never been to Oregon. I'd never even been to northern California. I decided I wanted to go to school somewhere different. I chose Eastern Oregon College (now Eastern Oregon University) because they wrote me a nice personal letter. The college was smaller than my high school. I didn't decide based on what I wanted to study or my plans for a future career...and I've lived in Oregon ever since. I'm not saying it was a bad decision, just that I didn't realize the impact it would have. My whole life changed with one decision.
I made another decision today. I didn't think about it too much. Even though there was no soundtrack, I'm pretty sure it will be life changing. I bought a lottery ticket for the $550 million Powerball lottery. This could be one of those crossroads...cue the music!
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Good luck with the lottery!! Being from the South(where everyone and their dog plays the lottery) I literally know more people playing than NOT playing the lotto tonight. It is quite the buzz here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too. It is amazing how one simple decision can change you whole life, and true....it would be nice to have a soundtrack to indicate those life changing moments, but it might take some of the surprise out of it.
Awesome wedding pic by the way!!!
My life would go straight to DVD.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that I would never want to win the lottery. It would be too much to deal with and would change my comfort zone - and oh how I love my comfort zone.
Good luck! I figure I'm better keeping my few bucks, than using them to try for something that ain't gonna happen. LOL!
ReplyDeleteOh, we forgot to buy tickets. But then we never do buy them.
ReplyDeleteI left Oregon and went to a small college in Seattle. I'm in Seattle still. Those are life changing decisions for sure.
I've bought one or two lottery tickets in my life. Hard to part with money for such minimal odds. My uncle won several thousand once on having several numbers of the winner but not all. He took it to Vegas.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy lottery tickets -- though I often daydream about what I'd do with the money if I won! One reason I don't is that I can't decide on what numbers to play -- just choosing them makes me feel crazy! I did buy one once and let the machine pick them -- but that seems like a 'cheat' in a way. I have had other people buy me a ticket and stick it in a Christmas card or birthday card. It was on the news this morning that two women won and will share half a billion dollars -- somebody's life's going to change -- big time!
ReplyDeleteMy travel home to Bellingham was quite unusual: I came down with the stomach flu and have been in bed ever since. I'll write about it today, since I'm not going to hike (obviously). I don't buy lottery tickets either, but it's only because I forget. It is interesting how much our lives change with a small little shift in direction. I've noticed it too. I'm sure glad you made it to Oregon, or I would never have met you! :-)
ReplyDeleteAh hah, the peoples retirement fund. I bought a few tickets myself. Oh whoops another post just caught my eye. So what did you learn about the g-spot?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Nana. Enjoy a marvelous day -Kelly
It's so interesting, isn't it, the life changing momentum of one decision early in life -- and how such decisions are made! It's wonderful that the results have been so positive in your case. Wow...haven't even thought about the lottery since I left California several years ago. I figure my changes are only slightly worse as a result of not buying tickets, but it is fun to dream.
ReplyDeleteHi Jann! Loved this post. So true how one decision completely changes the course of our lives. I've had a few of those!
ReplyDeleteI never have to buy a lottery ticket because my husband nearly always does! So, if he wins, I win! He's won twice in the past 25 years . . . and not nearly enough to pay for the tickets he's bought! Oh well!
Hope your phone arrived intact. Sorry it took so long to get to the post office!! :) No worries about cost, as it was quite inexpensive to mail!!
Yes, that’s all very well, but how will you decide what to do with all the money you are going to win?
ReplyDeleteCondolences on not winning the lottery. But from the little I know (2 visits a long time ago), you definitely hit the jackpot when you settled down in Oregon!
ReplyDeleteI love the wedding picture! You both look so young and happy, and you look so very bridal. It would be helpful to have a soundtrack to warn us what's ahead. I wonder - who would play you in the movie of your life? :-)
ReplyDeleteWell what was the outcome of this decision? We bought $20 worth of quick picks just for fun. Didn't even win our $20 back :-) Hope your luck was better than ours!
ReplyDeleteDear Jann, I so like and enjoy how your mind works. Because you don't live in Missouri and the Arizona lottery-ticket buyer appeared back East the next day, I assume you didn't win the Power Ball. But I think you really got a lot of us thinking about the decisions that make up our life's journey. We make a decision and it's like throwing a pebble into a pond. The rippling circles flow out and out from that one pebble, just as they do from those decisions we make about our life and its direction.
ReplyDeleteThat wanting a musical clue is like the Greek dramatists, who provided a "Deus ex machina" to come down and make everything right in the play! Peace.