The Price of Children

I got this in an email and I couldn't help but share it. And yes, I did cry when I read it. I'll be surprised if you don't get a little teary eyed yourself.

The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on to all. 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 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:

* $8,896.66 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 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.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, etc
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said
or how your stocks performed that day or how the traffic was coming
home from work.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* color Easter eggs
* 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 on 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,
* holding a hand at the doctor's or dentist's office
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* kissing a boo-boo, making it miraculously better
* 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 to history to witness the:

* first step,
* first smile
* first giggle
* 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 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!!!