Karate Part II

Today Mike and I accompanied Josh to his second karate lesson.  Things were going pretty good.  Josh was so happy and thrilled to be learning more moves.  He was even able to stare at a single dot on the wall for 10 seconds while the teacher ran to get a board for him to break.  10 whole seconds!  Don't laugh, this is a huge accomplishment.  I wish I had a video camera with me because it was funny how HARD it was for him.  He was then able to use a karate move to break a board in half.  He was ecstatic!  Then things went downhill.  Actually, it was more like jumping off a cliff.  The instructor told us that with the safety gear and a year commitment, the price is ONLY $1400! What?! But if we pay in full at the beginning, we would get a great 20% discount bringing the total down to ONLY $1120.  That's ONLY $94 a month. I was hoping he was joking but I had no such luck.  I can't believe people can afford this!  I just met a mother from our ward and she has 3 of her kids taking karate there right now.  She must be paying a fortune! Mike then asked about a month to month price.  The instructor explained that because there was no long term commitment, it would be $139/month and that does not include the safety pack which by itself cost $119.  The instructor asked what was holding us back from signing Josh up and Mike told him it was the money.  Duh.  The instructor said that Josh could come to his first group lesson for free so we could see how he did.  So we have put off making a decision until after his next lesson which will be on Tuesday.  How much is his happiness worth?  I don't know.  How much is 10 seconds of pure focus worth? Priceless.