Winning The Lottery

     Cara comes home one day and asks: "Are we ever going to win the lottery?"
     I reply: "No."
     "Why not?"
     "Because we never buy lottery tickets."

     She had probably driven by the big lottery billboard on I-5 that haunts everyone that passes through Eugene. 40 million Megabucks and 200 million Powerball - I believe them's are the winnings at the moment. That's a combined fifteen zeros. I drive by the sign twice a week, typically, and always figure I might as well buy a ticket and see what happens.
     The thing is, I am an incredibly lucky person. I pretty much expect things to work out in my favor - all the time - because history has taught me that they will, regardless or the effort or skill I put forth. I am constantly winning tiny little lotteries.

     Today was another example of a little lottery I have won in life: the office mate lottery.
     I was hired at LCC (win!) at a time when their enrollment was soaring high. It still is, really, so the fact that I teach "part time" at the college doesn't really matter because there are so many classes for me to teach each term (win!). But it does mean that there is very little office space to go around. I learned that I would be sharing an office with two other people: a husband and wife named Don and Inga Cataldo.
     They are the best office mates in the United States of America.
     I walked in and they immediately started clearing space for me and offered me the computer in the office. Forever. They bring their laptops and don't need it. We're off to a good start. Inga is from Ukraine. She and Don got married ten years ago when she came to the states. She has a daughter my age back home. As soon as I walked in the door on that first day, she asks me my age and I told her 25. She says "That's my daughter's age." She asks me some questions about myself. After knowing me for perhaps 12 minutes she declares "You are like son to me." She will bring me food to the office and any errand she runs for her husband (which is pretty much every chore in the office: getting copies, picking up mail, heating up lunch) she will offer to do for me.
     This fall we had a math-department meeting before the term began. We went around and said our names and something about ourselves. In typical Russian-accent-cadence, Inga says "Hello I am Inga I am married to Don and share office with Grant. He is super-handsome." She then sits down.
   
     A week ago the three of us are in our office. It's a crowded little room, and each of us face a different wall. I was getting up to leave for class and said "Oh, um, would you guys like to have dinner with Cara and Wyatt and I sometime soon?" Inga bolted in her chair and looked at Don and I in flash as soon as the "din" in "dinner" was uttered. She says "Uhh, yes. Saturday. You have baby, so you bring baby and I'll make dinner at our house. What do you like?" I said "Everything." She excitedly goes about her work again and I head out the door. She calls out to me "Don't eat anything between now and then!"
     We had dinner with them tonight. Just a few hours ago. I cannot describe the feast she threw our way. It was absurdly delicious. It was incredibly huge. She made enough food for a dozen people, when only four of us were eating people food. She made three desserts, just to make sure she found one we liked.

     These are the leftovers she sent home with us, to give you some idea.

The box of scones at the top-left she bought off a
fundraiser but didn't want, so she gave them to me. Jackpot.

     Again, I'd like to stress the word leftover, as that easily makes an entire meal. There was at least four times as much food at dinner, and lots of dishes that weren't sent home. She actually forgot to bring out an entire dish, but was okay with that because she felt it was too dry anyways.
     I was cleaning the table at the end of the night and she says "We always have leftovers. I won't eat leftovers and I won't give them to Don. We have no dog so I just throw it away." I said "Inga you can feel free to treat me like your dog," and she lit up and said from now on she will bring leftovers to the office.

     All of this post has been about Inga, but Don is wonderful too. He and I spend a lot of time in the office together. We talk politics or sports or news or, best of all, nothing at all. He is in the office a lot because he and Inga work pretty separate hours, so one is usually waiting around for the other. So he'll play freecell on his Ipad or take a nap. It's very relieving to have an office mate who is comfortable taking a nap with you around, as I feel like I can do the same.

     I should probably play the lottery, because I bet I'd win it. I would pit my luck against anyone else's and probably come out looking good. I am thankful for this and hope that it never changes. For what it's worth, I truly believe that I have such wonderful fortune because I obey God and His commandments, but if you would like to explain it a different way that's fine.
     I am going to go fulfill my role as Inga's son/dog and go eat that leftover fish.