My life as "Monopoly"

Written using the following prompt: Imagine your life as a board game, like monopoly or life.

 

My husband Gene and I began our game of Monopoly the day we were married. When we graduated from college, we owed a combined $20,000 in student loans. It was going to take going around the board, passing “go”, and collecting $200 many, many times to win the game.

 

On our first roll of the dice, we landed on Baltic Avenue in a small 3 bedroom ranch house. It was a non-descript box with no yard, no garage, and no character. It was in the low-rent district of Gene’s hometown. We spent close to three years there toiling away at dead-end jobs. We were going around and around the board collecting our $200 just barely making ends meet, landing every month on “electric company” and “water works”, which were owned by other players of the game.

 

On our next roll of the dice, we landed on “Chance”. The card read, “Gene attends Arizona State University to earn a MBA”. And with that roll, we sold our house, paid off our debts, packed everything we owned into the back of a U-haul truck, and drove across the country sleeping in rest areas along the way. 

 

We landed on Vermont Avenue in a small, one bedroom apartment near campus. We still weren’t in the high rent district, but we no longer lived on the wrong side of Main Street. We lived in housing just like every other student. So, while apartment living may have seemed like a step backward from home ownership, we actually viewed it as a step closer to “Boardwalk”. 

 

Getting close to graduation and starting the interview process, Gene blew on the dice for extra luck and then rolled them across the board. He landed on “Community Chest”, which read: Gene receives three job offers, collect $100 from the bank. 

 

With our next roll of the dice, we found ourselves on Virginia Avenue. Gene accepted a position with Intel. He entered their graduate rotation program, which required that we move to Oregon for one year. We moved from a small one bedroom apartment outside Phoenix, Arizona to a larger two story apartment in a suburb of Portland. The apartment was brand new and we were its first inhabitants.

 

5 months after arriving there, we landed on “Community Chest” again. This time it read: Congratulations! You just gave birth to a child. Collect $50 from each player. The year was 2000 and I haven’t passed “go” since. At the same time the economy began to slow down. On our next roll of the dice, we once again landed on “Community Chest”. This time it read: Dotcom bubble bursts, pay poor man’s tax of $15.

 

With the slowing economy, Intel cancelled its graduate rotation program and all relocations. Gene was given a full time position in Oregon and with our next roll of the dice, we landed on Tennessee Avenue, where we purchased our second home. Our second home wasn’t much bigger than our first home, but it did have a garage, a second bathroom, a huge yard, and vaulted ceilings which gave it a little character. We were still not in the high rent district, but considering we were living on one income, we were doing well.  

 

After spending a total of three years in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, we again landed on “Chance”. This time the card read, “Gene accepts a job with Whirlpool. Move back to Michigan. If you pass “go”, collect $200.” 

 

Immediately after landing on “Chance”, we landed on “Community Chest”.  “Move near family and friends. If this is a blessing, collect $25. If this is a curse, pay $25.” With this roll of the dice, we broke even.

 

The next roll of the dice, took us to Indiana Avenue. With the cost of housing being much less in Michigan, we were able to purchase a home that was twice as big as our last home. It was a traditional, two story, brick colonial with crown molding, wainscoting, chair rails, 6 paneled doors, and lots of character. It had been neglected and bank owned and was a perfect opportunity for a stay-at-home mom with a degree in interior design and a love of all things home improvement.

 

Seven years after we started the Monopoly game, we once again landed on “Community Chest”, which read, “Congratulations! You just gave birth to a second child. Collect $50 from each player.” 

 

We were your everyday, ordinary, average American family with two kids, a mini-van, PTA meetings, and soccer games. Gene continued to go around the board, passing “go”, and collecting $200. Thankfully, he never landed on “Go to Jail”!  

 

At this point in the game, life was fairly settled, when out of the blue, Gene landed on “Chance” for the umpteenth time. This time the card read, “Whirlpool offers you an ex-pat assignment in Shanghai, China. Collect $100.” 

 

And with that, we landed on Pacific Avenue. We skipped right over the entire yellow block and went straight to green. While happily average in the United States, here we get to see how the other half lives. My husband continues to toil day in and day out, my children are in school full time, and the housekeeper does the laundry, ironing, and cleaning.   I spend my days lunching, shopping, at the salon or gym, or partaking of one of my many hobbies. For me, I got the best roll of all. I landed on “Free Parking”. 

 

Living in an urban, high rise apartment with a housekeeper and a driver still doesn’t put us in the high rent district, which is hard to believe considering our rent is the equivalent of $5000/month. There are many ex-pats around us from various locales throughout the world living in villas or town-homes paying upwards of $10,000 per month. I cannot complain, however, the experience of living on the other side of the world is priceless. 

 

As in the game of Monopoly, our life has been full of many highs and lows. After paying the utilities, rent, and taxes, living paycheck to paycheck until we accumulated enough assets that we didn’t have to wait until we passed “go”, after more than 11 years of marriage, we are still going strong. Neither my husband nor I is bankrupt, and we eagerly anticipate the next roll of the dice to see where we’ll land.

 

We will probably never make it to “Boardwalk”, but that’s okay with me. I’m happy being average with the occasional “Park Place” experience.