Hope

I work with a woman who is really struggling right now. She's dealing with the recent death of her grandfather - for whom she is in charge of his estate - and her father-in-law was just diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Yes, like the rest of Michigan, she is struggling. She is one of the few people in this state who has a job, but wants and needs time away from the job to deal with real life.

Life ain't easy. If we're lucky, we strive simply to survive.

But the rewards are worth the price of playing the game.

Like a lot of people, Sheryl and I played the lottery tonight. Like a lot of people, we might have won... $333 freakin' million!

Like a lot of people, we've talked about what we'd do with the money.

Our big thing, though, after we've made sure we were set, is that we'd HAVE A BLAST helping others. We would WORK with our friends and family, and buy TIME for all of us. TIME together. TIME to do the things we should.

Sheryl and I buy lottery tickets. We HOPE we win, as we feel it will give us a chance to provide HOPE to others.

I am a survivor. That is my basic core instinct. You could strip away my flesh and blood, and you'd find the essence of survivalism.

What makes me a survivor, though, is what I learned growing up in Michigan... you have HOPE. You have FAITH. And you ride the roller coaster - whether you like it or not.

Without HOPE, you've got nothing.

With HOPE, you've got the world by the balls. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but it will be. I can promise that.

Anyone got the lottery numbers? ;)