I am now officially 50 years old.
It is a number that is easy to say, but difficult to swallow. I have been on this earth for 50 years. It seems like such a long time, but yet, not so long. So much has happened and way too quickly.
My original plans for celebrating my 50th birthday was to fly out to Las Vegas and spend a few days there. In February this year, I realized with my back and knee, that was probably insane. I amended my plans to going to Shreveport. Others suggested either WinStar or Choctaw in Oklahoma as they were closer for travel. Also, there were other benefits as others had special deals with WinStar, like two free nights. In the long run, it was cheaper to go to WinStar in Oklahoma, so we went there.
My father used his two night free stay card for me and his partner used her card for the two of them to stay the night. My friend, Laurie, used hers to get a room as well, so we all got to stay for free - generally speaking. All had to pay for a "Resort fee" in case anyone used the pool. I did not bring my bathing suit and the others were deterred by the sheer number of kids there. (The only thing at WinStar for families is the pool, so I cannot understand why so many families were there. That is another discussion on its own.)
After we checked into our rooms, got settled, I gave my father his Father's Day presents. Once that was done, we proceeded down to the casino. I had brought the cash jar money I had saved for a year with me to use. Everyone started playing on the slot machines. I would play cards, but I do not feel I am very good at playing card games. I need more practice. Not sure if on-line would help or not, but it is something I feel I have a bit of an advantage over slot machines. However, slot machines it was.
I went to play on a similar machine that my friend, Arnold, had played on last month. He had gotten up to $700 - maybe I would be that lucky. This machine, however, was on the main floor of the casino, not the high roller room. Still, it was a $1 machine. My friend, Laurie, was concerned that I would bet the maximum, which I knew I would not do. Nine dollars out of the $23 I had put in was insane. I used a $3 bet. What happened next was simply a blur because it all happened so quickly.
My phone rang from another friend and I tried to answer it. For whatever reason, the call dropped. I remember hitting the "Spin" button, then the call got through to the other person. I was only talking with my friend for a few seconds, then all hell broke loose.
I realized that the machine had given me some free spins, so I was watching that. The next thing I knew, my friend, Laurie, was telling me "You won!" I was confused and did not understand what I won. I stopped for a moment to look at the machine - I had won $4757.
I quickly hung up the phone and just stared in awe of the machine. I had never won that much money in my entire life. In New Orleans in 2012, I had won $240 and was ecstatic over that. However - THIS was $4700! Wow!
Now, the funny thing. Before I left my room, I asked Laurie if I needed my license. I had already put my purse and other precious items into the safe. She told me that I might need it if I won. I laughed and said, I doubted that - my luck - I would break even. Laurie laughed and said "Well, you might actually win by leaving it here."
Well, she was right. I won and I had to run back to the hotel room to retrieve my driver's license. My father and his partner had just gotten over to the machine when I returned with my driver's license. I think my father thought I had only won $47, but the surprise on his face after he realized I won $4700 was priceless. Even his girlfriend was surprised.
It took awhile, but once they got my information for tax purposes, a gentleman counted out the $4757 in cash. Now, I understood Arnold's situation when he won his $4500. Luckily, I just had to take the phone out of my wristlet and put the money there and the phone in my pocket. I carried the money with me until after dinner. At that time, I was able to place the money into the safe and would not touch it.
Before meeting everyone for some cake, I sat down for a few minutes and thought of how thankful I was for the windfall. If I was smart, I would simply put this into my savings account and count my blessings and realize how grateful I was for this happening to me.
For the rest of the trip, I won and lost money playing the slot machines. Overall, I had a really great time just spending time away from work and keeping my mind off of my other troubles. My back, unfortunately, was a huge pain. I was thankful that we had only gone to WinStar and not Shreveport or Las Vegas. I do not think my back could have handled that much activity.
My hope that this win is the start of a better things to come during my 50's decade. I was driving to meet another friend for dinner the other night and heard a song from the 80's. It made me reflect on where my life is right now. I am nowhere near what I had hoped for in my life, but I am thankful for the people and the lessons learned on this path. Maybe those ideals were too much in the first place. Right now, the things I want more than anything is to feel better, have a healthy life, live each day fully, and be proud of who I am. I have to quit living in the past - things that did not happen were never meant to be. If they are meant to be, it will happen. I just have to have faith in God's plan and take everything one day at a time.
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