Fw: TO ALL FUTURE AND CURRENT PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS

[Guest guest]

This is beautiful! You will probably get all misty eyed, I know I did. Love, Judy TO ALL FUTURE AND CURRENT PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS All and All, it is worth every penny of it !!!! ARTFor all you Parents & Grandparents out there......I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but thisis the first time I have seen the REWARDS listed this way. It's nice, reallynice! The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child frombirth to 18 and came up with $160,140!That doesn't even touch college tuition.For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the moneywe could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others,that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day!Just over a dollar an hour.Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children ifyou want to be "rich". 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 jam.A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, andskipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how yourstocks performed that day.For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carvepumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believingin Santa Claus.You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing onstars.You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets andcollect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clayfor 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 the bike, removing a splinter, filling thewading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball teamthat never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.You get a front row seat to history; to witness the first step, first word,first bra, first date, and 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 longlist of limbs in your obituary called 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 with God.You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under thebed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, andlove them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love withoutcounting the cost.ENJOY YOUR CHILDREN (and grandchildren) !!!!!!