Does the family own this combination of numbers?

We can never know how we would react to finding out someone close to us just won the lottery. It is a scenario that happens to so few people that there is probably no right or wrong way to go about this. There is no recipe or formula for how one should behave after finding out someone they care about had their life changed forever.

However, no matter what, support should be your main approach. If a person mattered to you a certain way before this life-changing event, they should matter to you just the same after; no more and no less. You can be there to help them navigate their new life, and you can remind them you’re still there for them; that is the bare minimum.

But by all means, please don’t ask them for money.

The family in the story below had a tradition–every year on Grandma’s birthday, they would all go out to buy lottery tickets and fill in the numbers with important dates for the family. They didn’t pay for the tickets together, and no one was forced to participate; it was just a fun activity they all did together.

This year, one of the cousins filled in his ticket with the numbers using Grandma’s birthday, his Dad’s birthday, and his own graduation date, and managed to actually win! He was so happy about the win that he didn’t think anyone in the family would be unsupportive about it. He thought they would be happy that someone had finally won, thanks to the family tradition.

Boy, was he wrong.

Upon hearing about the win, the family demanded that the cousin share his winnings with them, since he used the «family numbers» for the winning ticket. They claimed it was the right thing to do and that they are entitled to the winnings just as much as he was. Safe to say, he disagrees. 

He paid for the ticket, he chose the numbers, so the money was his. He didn’t want to become the family ATM, and he didn’t want to be looked at any differently. Unfortunately, the family still refuses to back down.

Scroll down to read the rest of the tale.