"Glimpses
of God every day, butterfly kisses and Velcro hug, more love
than your heart can hold."
~ author unknown
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THE
PRICE OF A CHILD
The government
recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to
18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk
about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so
bad if you break it down. It translates into:
-
-
-
-
That's
a mere $24.24 a day!
-
Just
over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think
the best financial advice is don't have children if you want
to be "rich". Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140?
-
Naming rights.
First, middle, and last!
-
Glimpses of God
every day.
-
Giggles under
the covers every night.
-
More love than
your heart can hold.
-
Butterfly kisses
and Velcro hugs.
-
Endless wonder
over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
-
A hand to hold,
usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
-
A partner for
blowing bubbles, flying kites
-
Someone to laugh
yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how
your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never
have to grow up. You get to:
-
-
-
-
catch lightning
bugs, and
-
never stop believing
in Santa Claus.
-
keep reading the
Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
-
watching Saturday
morning cartoons,
-
going to Disney
movies, and
-
-
You get to frame
rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets
and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,
hand prints set in clay or Mother's Day, and cards with
backward letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is
no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
-
retrieving a Frisbee
off the garage roof,
-
taking the training
wheels off a bike,
-
-
-
coaxing a wad
of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never
wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat
to history to witness the:
-
-
-
-
-
first time behind
the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're
lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren
and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology,
nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality
that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child,
you rank right up there under God. You have all the power
to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed,
patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them
forever, and love them without limits, So . . one day they
will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite
a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy
your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
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