UPDATE: My story has now earned not quite $21K and is now winding down. I would love to tell you all more about this.

First of all, I am very grateful and happy to have made this money. As a full-time writer, I generally make less than what I could make if I worked full-time at Taco Bell, where in my town they're now paying $15 per hour -- that's close to what I made running a daily newspaper!

For perspective: If I had three viral stories each year, I'd make about the median annual wage. But I don't expect lightning to strike again. This was a gift from the Medium gods, and I recognize it as such.

Most of my reads actually came from non-members, so I made nothing from those. Elsewhere, I've speculated about how much money Medium may have made if just 1 percent of the non-members who read my story joined. (I won't stick a link here, but you can find that story on my home page easily if you want to read it.)

Here's what I did with the money: First, I stuck a chunk away for retirement. I've struggled financially most of my life, and have much less saved than a 58-year-old woman should have. So that was my first move. I also put some toward my mortgage. I have funded an app, Greenlight, that will pay my grandchildren allowances via a kid-friendly debit card. I want them to learn about money, and I want to give my daughter a financial break by doing this, too. I fixed my 20-year-old car that was unsafe to drive, which was a huge relief. I purchased a bunch of things we needed: A pair of shoes to replace a pair with holes in the bottom. A rug for the hallway. A new curtain for the front door to replace one that was ripped. A used Little Green Machine because one of my dog is very elderly and has accidents sometimes. A food processor, because my 35-year-old one finally broke. Our big splurge was $600 worth of patio pavers, with which we made a new patio in our back yard, and on it we plopped a $400 seasonal pool that we greatly enjoyed for a month. Now it's stored for the winter and we have a fire pit where the pool was -- our neighbor gave us one she no longer wanted when I told her I planned to buy one. I reserved some of the money for taxes, because of course none was withheld and I don't want a tax bill I can't cover.

I write here and on Substack and I just last night finished publishing a new book called "Strapped," which is on Amazon. I am behind on my pub, Minds Without Borders, and I will spend the next few days catching up there.

Don't worry, folks! I am still hanging up my laundry to dry, washing my dishes by hand and making my own bread. I am not lighting Cuban cigars with hundred-dollar bills or drinking fine wines. Mainly, I'm still writing the best stories I can every day. This is what I do for a living, and I take it very seriously. I appreciate every single read.