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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 sticker shock! That doesn't even touch
college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It
translates into $8,896 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's
a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial
advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the
opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights--- First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God everyday. Giggles and
outright , deep belly, flat out infectious laughter more times than one
would ever believe. More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. Endless
wonder and pleasure over the simple things: rocks, ants, clouds, and warm
cookies.
A hand to hold. A partner for blowing
bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the
sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no
matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you can live through your
childhood again: You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play
hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and believe in Santa Claus for a
while again. You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet
and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disneyland, and
wishing 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 clay for 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, kissing a hurt,
filling a wading pool, 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, 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 long list 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 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.
ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS! |
