Cost of Children!

I have seen repeatedly 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, really nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up $160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we 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 $8,896.66 a 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 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 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, 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 never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in 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 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, removing a splinter, filling the 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 to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.


You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.


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.


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.


You also have the wonderful benefit of eating (low calorie) egg salad sandwiches for 2 weeks straight...after Easter Sunday each year!

Trees....

Trees
By Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's seet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening....

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Growing Like Weeds!

I took this picture yesterday. I am so pleased that Alex & Mallory seem to like each other. I try to take as many pictures of Alex being sweet to his sister as I can so that I can prove to him someday that he really did love this sister at one time! He was giving her kisses yesterday and he is really good about playing nicely with her. Once in a while, he tries to smash Sam into her face but it doesn't happen very often.

Both kids are about to need some new clothes. They are both outgrowing all of their summer clothes and it is starting to get cooler here. I love shopping sprees! It reminds me of school starting when I was a kid and I always loved getting new clothes! Maybe I will get them some school supplies too! School supplies for a 5 month old baby? Sure! School supplies never go out of style.

I came across a poem yesterday that took me back 25 years. My Grandpa Leonard used to recite this poem to us when we were kids! I will never forget it. There was another poem too and I searched and searched last night until I found it. I am going to post them in separate posts.....