Priceless . . .

The whole idea of commercials on TV is to catch your attention so you will buy the product being promoted. One of those commercials that sticks in my mind goes through a list of items or services giving the cost. Then it comes to a final intangible with the cost of "Priceless".

I just passed the 6 month anniversary of being an adoptive dad. Our 10 year old China princess first stepped into our home on February 6. A lot has happened in her young life, and ours, in those few short months. She has gone from a timid, quiet girl to a happy, loving young lady. For the first few weeks she wouldn't talk at all. Now she laughs and talks, sings at the top of her voice, and yells "Hannah Montana!" Slowly she has gone from only knowing the institutional life of the orphanage to understanding in her heart the meaning of "Family".

And the cost? Quite high. The adoption process isn't cheap. Nor is the cost of buying all of the things a new daughter needs to fit in to her new society. It is all too easy for me to add up all of the costs and start grumbling about the expenses and the "unnecessary" purchases.

Last night my wife and I went separately to a local restaurant for dinner--she direct from work and I from picking up our daughter at day camp. When it was time to leave I went to pay the bill and my wife and daughter started to leave to go shopping. That seems to be the norm. I pay the bills and the women go shopping. That fits right into my male viewpoint.

But then my daughter came over to me and gave me a hug. No begging for it from me. No prompting from Mom. She just did it out of her own happiness. So what was the value of that little moment? Priceless!