An Investment in the Future

Today, I went to Rachel's orthodontist for the initial consult.  This is where they tell you what they are going to do to her teeth, how long it will take, and how much it will cost you.  Then they look at you and smile their big, white, toothy smiles and say, "It's an investment in your child's future."

Well, our investment in Rachel's future is going to be $2,900 for Phase 1.  I don't know how much it will be for Phase 2 and I'm not sure how many phases we can expect, but that is one big investment.  

On the drive home I got to thinking.  How is this an investment?  We will not see any return on that money.  It's not like in 60-70 years she will be able to sell them on ebay for a nice profit.  In fact, she won't even be able to trade them in on new ones later.  I guess the only thing we will get out of this investment will be to see her big, white, toothy smile when all this is over.  And, the more I think about it, that's a pretty good return on our money.