Be Our Guest (a $16.95 value)

In recent years, as a Christmas gift from Tonya's parents, our family has been blessed to receive a yearly membership to the Knoxville Zoo. If you don't have children, you're probably thinking "I went there once, that was enough. Why would anyone want an annual pass?" I used to think the same way. But with two young sons who are enamored with animals, it has been a great gift for our family.

This morning, we went to the zoo and arrived just as it was opening. There was a line out front at the ticket window as several people were waiting to purchase tickets and Tonya mentioned that we needed to "choose a guest". It was then that I remembered that we've been fortunate for the last couple of years to "add a guest" to our family membership. It costs only a little more but allows us to take a grandparent or one of the boys' friends to the zoo with us. Sometimes, Tonya takes a new mom and her young child with her as an encouragement to the mom (and because our boys love meeting babies). But on those days when we go to the zoo without a prearranged guest, Tonya is always thoughtful to find someone in line, a stranger, and offers to save them the price of admission by asking them to "be our guest". It costs us nothing, but saves our "guest" $16.95.

Here's The Point: It's always a good feeling to surprise someone with free zoo admission. Today, we asked a local grandmother to be our guest. As we walked her through the entrance gate, she shared that her grandchildren were in town for the weekend and that they had never been to the Knoxville Zoo. Maybe she spent some of the money she saved on slush puppies for her grandkids?