This week, I chose a Mama Kat prompt that allowed me to dream, for at least a few minutes. The prompt is:
If I gave you $500 today, but you could use it for only one purchase, what would you buy and why?
There are three things I would choose from if $500 were placed into my hands right now:
Option One: Pay down debt. The $500 would only put a small dent in what we owe but every single dollar toward being able to breathe again (emotionally) is a dollar well spent.
Option Two: Send my mother in law on her dream trip to Rome. I know $500 wouldn’t cover the whole thing at all but it would be $500 closer than I am now. At 78, her stamina to negotiate an overseas trip like that probably isn’t infinite. I hate to give up on this dream. I wish I could have found a way to save up for it, to win it (I’ve entered plenty of contests), to repay someone who has meant so much to me.
Option Three: Travel to Guatemala to visit our sponsored child, Silvia. At 18, her time in the sponsorship program is limited (it ends when she stops formal schooling). The guidelines regarding sponsor/sponsoree contact after sponsorship ends are strict, and it is unlikely she and I will see one another again. I want to look her in the eyes, give her a hug, wish her a lifetime of happiness, and thank her for what she has meant to Tenley and to me. $500 would cover the cost of a Mission Awareness Trip with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. There would still be the issue of airfare, and getting Tenley there, but $500 would be a start.
Thanks, Kat, for the opportunity to dream out loud (or on screen…..or whatever this is!).
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
jane@flightplatformliving says
ahhh great dreaming! i too picked the same prompt xxx
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thanks and I enjoyed yours!
Dominique Goh says
Hope your dreams do come true 🙂
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thanks, Dominique – same to you!
veronica says
All of those are wonderful ways to spend $500. But I think I like that last one the best! I hope you do get to meet Silvia in real life some day 🙂
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thanks! I did meet her once – in July of 2011. But a second time would be doubly wonderful!!
Mama Melch says
Those are perfect ways to spend the fairy’s money…now where is that dusty thing?
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
I sure don’t know – she is evasive, isn’t she?
Jen says
It’s always hard to know what to do with extra money, be responsible or be fun. I say be fun. Here’s hoping you someday get to take your trips.
Stopped by from Mama Kat’s. 🙂
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thanks!
Cinella says
Wow! That’s an awesome way to spend it! Props to ya
Cinella @ The Mami Blog
MryJhnsn (@mryjhnsn) says
All of your ideas are so wonderful and unselfish. Beautiful 🙂
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thank you!!
Crafty Spices says
It’s great to take a moment and dream… All of your choices are great and I do hope you can go and visit Silvia sometime.
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Thanks! I do as well! We did meet her in July 2011 but saying goodbye would be especially meaningful. CFCA really focuses on these individuals thriving in their home country, so there’s very little likelihood of her traveling to the United States or anything like that. But I guess “never say never”!
markandmayaadopt says
All are great uses for the money! But why aren’t you allowed to stay in contact anymore after she turns 18, if you both want to?