The watch I never intended to own

By Ovi Catanescu

Many years ago, on my birthday, Maria and our two sons, Alexander and Gabriel, surprised me with a beautifully wrapped box.

Inside was a Breitling watch.

I was stunned. It was far more expensive than I had ever expected anyone to spend on me.

Then I discovered something that made me laugh.

They had bought the watch using my own business credit card!

My first reaction was practical.

"This is simply too expensive."

A day or two later, I went back to the jewelry store by myself.

I explained to the saleslady why I wanted to return it.

She smiled kindly and said,

"No problem... but if you return this watch, your boys will be crushed."

She wasn't talking about the money.

She understood that the real gift wasn't the watch.

It was the love behind it.

I stood there for a moment and realized she was right.

So I took the watch home.

Today, whenever I wear it, I don't see an expensive watch.

I see my family.

I remember two sons who wanted to make their father feel special, a wife who helped make it happen, and one wise saleslady who reminded me that some gifts are measured by love, not by dollars.

Where's the Owl Spit?

Sometimes the greatest value of a gift has nothing to do with its price.

The watch tells the time.
The story reminds me what matters.

What would have been lost if this story had never been told?

A family's love...

and the wisdom of a stranger who understood that some things are simply beyond price.

— Ovi