Five-Dollar Diet Coke

It was cold and rainy in downtown Chicago.

We were warm and cozy in our hotel room, 36 stories high.

And I had a craving.

For a Diet Coke.

I hardly ever drink soda, so it was unusual.

But I wanted one anyway.

You know how it is when you crave something and you just can't stop thinking about it?

Generally, I find that it's best to appease that craving. Within reason, of course.

So I ventured down to the hotel lobby to see what they had in the little store off the front desk.

And there it was...calling to me from the third shelf.

I reached into the cooler and grabbed it.

Then I looked at the price.

Did a double-take.

That Diet Coke was five dollars!

I almost put it back. It seemed obscene to me to spend that much on one bottle of soda.

But then I thought about where I was, the week we had, the potential challenges coming our way after this latest round of tests.

And I thought maybe I could justify that cost to have something that I really wanted in that moment.

So I sucked it up and paid five dollars for that Diet Coke.

And I enjoyed it, and a few laughs, with my son in our warm hotel room that night.

It's funny how the value of things can change based on the situations we are in.

We'll pay more for something if we are desperate for it.

Or if it's a special occasion.

Or if we have a really intense craving.

Or if it means we don't have to go out in the cold to get it.

Payng more for that Diet Coke gave me a small sense of comfort after a really long, arduous week.

It represented the simple things in life that make me smile.

It was worth every penny of that five dollars that night.

And it made me think about everyone else in this big world, dealing with their own challenges, and probably paying too much sometimes too.

We've all got a five-dollar Diet Coke story to tell.

I'd love to hear yours sometime.

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