Four Dollars and Fifteen Cents
A $4.15 soda at the airport becomes a reflection on how easy it is to stop noticing the little moments that matter most.
I was flying to a wedding today and while I was at the airport, I bought a Coke Zero.
It was $4.15.
I didn't even flinch.
Tapped my card. Walked to my gate. Opened it up like it was nothing.
But a few minutes later, I went to throw the receipt away and I looked at the price… and it stopped me.
Four dollars and fifteen cents… for a soda.
I actually didn't stop because of the price.
But because I didn't even notice the price.
I mean, once upon a time, $4.15 was a whole conversation.
Back when I was a full-time student, full-time job, and a new dad, every purchase came with a pause.
Once a month, if we had the wiggle room, we'd go to Blockbuster.
We'd sit in the car (baby in the backseat) and say,
"Do we really want to spend the $3.49? What if it's not even good?"
We'd go back and forth.
Talk it through.
Eventually we'd walk in, pick a movie, and head home like we just closed escrow.
Because back then, everything mattered.
The choices were small, but they felt huge.
And today?
I spent $4.15 on a soda like I was Jeff Bezos in a hurry.
And, on my way to this wedding, I'm realizing something.
It's not about the soda.
It's about not noticing.
It's about how life moves on, and how what once felt meaningful can start to feel automatic.
That's when the danger creeps in.
When we stop noticing.
When we stop choosing.
So, here's my advice that I won't be asked to share at the wedding tonight:
Life is going to change.
You'll grow, build, earn, achieve.
Things that used to feel like a big deal will eventually feel normal.
But don't let your relationship become a $4.15 Coke Zero.
Keep choosing each other.
Keep talking through the little stuff.
Keep caring about the moments that most people miss.
Because marriage isn't built in anniversaries and Instagram posts.
It's built in Blockbuster nights.
In conversations in parking lots.
In everyday moments that don't seem like much until years later, when you realize they were everything.
Enjoy the little things in life because one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things. – Kurt Vonnegut