Luck Has Nothing To Do With It

I am getting really tired of hearing how lucky I am.  The first time I got ticked off by being called lucky was years ago when a friend commented on how lucky I was that I liked my job.  Lucky that I went through several crappy jobs to earn that one, lucky that I busted my butt in each of those crappy jobs to make sure I had a decent resume, or lucky that I went to graduate school two nights a week while working full time in order to qualify for that job?

Since then there have been many others.  I'm so lucky that I can stay home with my kids.  I am very happy that I get to do so.  But I really want to say to some of the people commenting on my luck, "Yes, and I'm also lucky that I don't have a new car, or a gym membership, or an awesome wardrobe, or assloads of jewelry, or a nanny like you do."  I spent my 10-year anniversary in the Wisconsin Dells with the kids, people, not on a luxury cruise.  It was actually really fun.  But is my being home really luck, or just budgeting, planning & opportunity?  Conversely, I don't think of my working counterparts as lucky when they go on a nice vacation or get new killer shoes.  They earned them with their commitment to and success in their jobs.

What got me all riled up this time?  I got the "you're one of those lucky women with a good metabolism" comment.  Yep, that's me.  Where were you the past 6 years when I looked like crap?  First it was the delightful year that I was injecting myself with fertility drugs to have my first son, which makes you thick, puffy & crazy.  That was followed by the always slimming pregnancy.  Then nursing & two years of being fat because, really, what was the point of working out if I was just going to get pregnant again?  Then another year of injecting myself with fertility drugs, another pregnancy & nursing period.  My lucky metabolism wasn't making me thin during that attractive time in my life.  But then something amazing happened.  I got off my sorry butt and worked out.  A lot.  I completely changed the way I ate and worked out 6 days a week.  So do I have a lucky metabolism, or just a changed lifestyle that has earned me this body?  I don't recall luck swinging kettlebells or jumping on the treadmill.  Nope, that was me.  I think luck may have been on the couch eating potato chips.

Will I be lucky on my upcoming trip to Vegas?  Statisticians would argue no, and I would agree.  I will win some & lose some.  Some of us will come home with more money than others.  The numbers will favor some of us more than others, and some of us will play with more skill than others.  But that's it.  Luck, it ain't.

I am not a big believer in luck. I believe Pierre Edward Trudeau got it right: "Be ready when opportunity comes... Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet."  I guess the Boy Scouts had it right all along: "Always Be Prepared."  And so I shall.  Luck can suck it.