The day I ate $1,000,000.00 dollars

The story goes like this...

It was a Friday night and our youth group was hanging out at someone's house for the evening.  It was one of those nights when people were in a particularly good mood and the laughing and joking was heard all throughout the house.

I was 14.  Quiet.  I was loving all the stories and conversations...being excited to be in the conversation but hoping I wouldn't have to contribute if I didn't have to.  As I was looking around, one of the older guys in the group smiled and winked at me.  Now, I even knew this guy was a "winker"...like it was a reflex to him smiling, but even knowing that, I blushed.  Ugh!! How embarrassing...pull yourself together, Tami!! Oh my word...don't look down...don't look up...ugh, eat something so it looks like you didn't even notice!  So I looked into the bowl of M&M's to see one discolored grey candy.  Hmm, weird...I've never seen a grey M&M.  So I popped it in my mouth hoping somehow that diversion would fade the pink in my cheeks.

Right then, one of the guys says, "Hey, by the way, no body eat a gray M&M if you see it!!!"
Someone else, "Oh yeah! M&M is running a contest that if you find the grey M&M you win $1,000,000!!"
"Hahah!!! Wouldn't that be terrible if someone ate it?!"

I didn't even like chocolate, but as it was melting in my mouth, it tasted even worse.  I was eating the $1,000,000 M&M!!  Oh my...of course, I would.  Do I say something? No, 'cause they'd make me spit it out and it was almost all gone.  So I quietly watched all of them laughing as I swallowed the last bit of the $1,000,000 I'd never see.  

I didn't tell anyone that story until... 
a few years later when McDonalds was running their Monopoly game for the first time.  I hadn't paid attention to the game, and didn't know the prize.  However, I would peel off my stickers just to look at them and had both Boardwalk and Park Place.  I stuck them in my cup holder, but casually threw them both away when cleaning out my car...

Later, some friends mentioned the McDonald's Monopoly game...and that's when I realized I'm the unluckiest lucky person I know.  Twice...I threw away $1,000,000.00.  

So when I hear the song, "If I had a million dollars"...well, it's kind of a bitter pill (or candy) to swallow. :)

Happy Thursday! :)
...and Happy Birthday, Leah!! (...that makes #3)