Americans from every corner will come together tonight at exactly 11 PM Eastern time to see if they’ve won Mega Millions’ $1 billion lottery.

I’ll probably forget to watch the drawing live, but I’ll have my ticket handy for whenever I first see the winning numbers.

There’s probably a way I could have them texted to me but its nice to purposely seek out something fun every once in a while.

I’ve always loved the lottery. It’s held a special place in my heart ever since my grandparents mistakenly thought they won $35 million when I was 14 years old. Talk about a family-wide thrill!

I try not to dwell too much on my family fortune that never was. I’ve good-naturedly participated in every office pool that ever invited me.

The truth is, my life probably won’t change right away if I win tonight.

As a stay-at-home dad, I quit my job years ago, and as challenging as raising a 3-year-old and 1-year-old may be, it would still be me getting them up in the morning and putting them to bed at night no matter how cartoonishly large our house becomes.

In fact, I’d probably be so worried about them growing up with a sense of entitlement that I’d overcorrect and end up denying them many of the standard joys in life.

Still, as Joe Diffie used to sing, ”I’d like to have a problem like that.”

I worked behind the counter of a neighborhood gas station when I was sixteen and the regular lotto players started coming during my shifts because I spoke English well and was good at operating the machine. For some of them I even memorized the games they played and knew their regular numbers.

I’d see the glimmer of hope in their eyes once they finally held their ticket. It was beautiful. Sad as hell, but beautiful in its own way.

On my way home from a haircut yesterday, I found myself without kids in public for the first time in an eternity and bought myself a Mega Millions ticket. My wife did not approve, but a billion dollars buys an awful lot of forgiveness.

Today I’m re-sharing a column today that I wrote back in 2019 titled:

DON’T LIVE LIKE YOU ARE DYING, LIVE LIKE YOU WON A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY ON A SCRATCH LOTTO TICKET

Even if you don’t win the Mega Millions tonight, hold on a bit to the hopeful mindset if you’re able. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make the world seem brighter.