Subject: The Price of Children (a note from my sis in Houston with a new perspective, attitude and reminder of such a deal they are!)
Here is something special for you! This is just too good not to
pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change.
I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child,
but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.
It’s nice.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, * $171.08 a week. *
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 $160,140.00? * 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 and flying kites. * Someone to
laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your
stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies, and * wish on stars. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clayfor Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
For a mere $24.24 a day, 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, * removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool, * 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 in history to witness
the: * First step, * First word, * First bra, * First date, * 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 and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It’s the best investment you’ll ever make!!!!!!!!! ~ljl~
