If I Won the Lottery I Would……

I gave up doing the lottery a long time, I don’t really have any dreams of being rich. A few years ago if I’d been asked what I would do if I won the lottery I’d have said the usual, buy a bigger house, go on lots of holidays, see the world, make sure my children have plenty for the future.

I’m not so sure now. Of course I’d like to see my children financially safe, I’ve never really had loads of money and I know what it’s like to struggle. I don’t want my children to struggle of course, but I would like them to earn their money rather than have it dropped in their laps. I’d like them to learn how to budget and save, they are important skills that would disappear if they had everything they wanted.

As for the house, well three years ago there was seven of us squished into a tiny three bedroomed house. Now we have a lovely five bedroomed house which more than fits our needs. Of course I am struggling to get it looking as nice as I would like, I’d like to be able to finish  my decorating to a nice standard and be surrounded by nice things. I’d like the garden to have lots of nice things for the kids to play on and lots of plants and flowers for me. The sort of things that having a lot of money would make a big difference, but not necessities and things we can live without if we have to.

Holidays are something I love but I’ve never been abroad. I’m not a sun seeker, in fact the sun really doesn’t agree with me. There are places I’d like to see in the world and I’d love for my children to travel more. However, I’m also scared of the things going on in the world and even my close family have had close misses. My daughter was at Belgium airport shortly before the bombings and my Brother was in Turkey shortly before the bombings…literally just a couple of weeks could have been a big loss to my family. I know that you shouldn’t let these things scare you, but it does me, particularly as I’m not a big traveller anyway.

So, what would I spend my lottery win on? 

I would build a Free School for high functioning Autistic Children. The kind of kids that do not belong in a special school and struggle in a mainstream school. My son lasted just a year and half in mainstream secondary school and my daughter has just started her first year. It’s not easy for them, they try to fit in but know they are different. They are targets for bullies, they find it difficult to make or keep friendships. They find it hard to keep up with the work and follow all the rules. They don’t understand when they are punished for not doing the work, or not being in the right place, or not being quiet when they are asked. They feel lost and afraid and incredibly anxious. They may make friends and do well academically, but these kids don’t fit in and struggle every day. 

My dream would be to provide a school for my daughter and other kids like her to make their school years productive and happy. I would make sure that the teachers knew everything about Autism and knew that these children had different needs. These children deserve a decent education and deserve to be happy.

Maybe I will start buying a ticket!

This is my post for Day 3 of Blogtober16, please click the image below to see what others would do if they won the lottery.