We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made
them worse.
For my grandchildren I'd like
better. I'd really like for you to know about hand me down clothes
and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really
would.
I hope you learn humility by
being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I
hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the
car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you
are sixteen. It will be good if at least one time you can see
puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye
fighting for something you believe in, I hope you have to share a
bedroom with your younger brother. And it's all right if you have
to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to
crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you
let him.
When you want to see a movie and
your little brother wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him. I
hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that
you live in a town where you can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to
catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two
blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as
your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope
your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope
you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use
computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your
friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and when you
talk back to your mother that you learn what IVORY Soap tastes
like.
May you skin your knee climbing a
mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a
frozen flagpole.
I don't care if you try a beer
once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you
Dope or a Joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend!
I sure hope you make time to sit
on a porch with your Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May
you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you
when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that
she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a
plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you -
tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me,
it's the only way to appreciate life.
Paul Harvey
Submitted by Vicki, Kennet
Square, Pa.