Something curious happened today. A couple scheduled to stay with us approached my husband and I with a serious inquiry: “We’d like to talk about buying your motel”. Not a typical statement we hear from our guests, so it gave us pause.
“Well…For the right price…” My husband answered. And so the doors were suddenly open for conversation about selling – A conversation I wasn’t even sure I wanted to have. For so many reasons, selling seemed out of the question. And yet, “for the right price” buzzed in our heads. So a coffee date was scheduled.
What WAS the right price? We pondered this for days leading up to our ‘date’. We whispered late into the night about why we bought this place, what our dreams were for it, and how we FELT while working here. All the while, my stomach knotted at the thought of another big life change. We played out scenerios in our heads: What if we were offered 1 million, 2 million, 10 million?! We imagined where we would go, how we would spend our time and money.
Then we came back to reality, to our little life here. To “now”. We purchased this place so we could stop living just for the future. Like many others, we want to be content everyday. Here, we live in the “now”, with honest work, fresh air, friendly people, good food, amazing views, and love in our hearts. Could money purchase the happiness we currently feel here? What would we do if they offered us 10 million dollars? Perhaps we’d travel around, vacation until we grew tired of the commotion, then go buy another motel on Lake Michigan, and do exactly what we’re doing right now…only there’s no guarantee we could recreate this. The quirks of this place belong only here, they make it what it is: our paradise, as imperfect as it is. The desert island we’ve always dreamt of.
The conclusion was simple, no amount of money could purchase the life we already have. Not even 10 million dollars.
The morning of our coffee date came and we listened to the hopeful couple discuss their dreams of owning our paradise. “their diamond in the ruff’ they called it. We let them know within the first few minutes that we wouldn’t be selling – not yet anyway. The rest of the conversation was pleasant, despite their clear disappointment. We never did learn the amount of money they wanted to purchase it for, but the experience taught us something else very important: Happiness can’t be bought, not even for “the right price”.