Priceless Works Of Art

It puzzles me when people on shows like “Designed to Sell” wait to fix up their home until they are ready move out. Why not do the work up front so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor? My husband feels the same way and, over the past year, we have been working to finish decorating our home. Bill’s in charge of finding artwork. His most recent purchase was a serigraph by a well-known artist, which we picked out for Katie’s room.

Katie was excited on the day that it arrived in the mail … perhaps a bit too excited as she announced while getting ready for bed: “Mom, I have nicer artwork in my room than you do,”

“We can put the new painting in our room, if you want us to.”

Regretting her decision to gloat, Katie replied: “No, that’s okay.”

“Besides,” she added, “your room doesn’t have any orange in it.”

Katie knew that I wasn’t going to take her painting from her. What she didn’t know was why. I didn’t want her limited edition print because my walls were decorated with photos of my well-loved family. From the wedding photo that I paid for by selling my wedding dress to a consignment shop, to the family pictures we had taken last summer, all were a reflection of what truly brought me joy.

It’s easy to measure the value of an item by how much it would bring if you sold it. More difficult is teaching children about the value that comes from within. It’s not the cost of an item, but the joy that it brings to the person who owns it that determines true worth. Katie can have her painting: It doesn’t hold a candle to the priceless works of art I treasure most … my family.

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