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WITandWISDOM(tm) - May 13, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble Courage in our own. Adam Lindsay Gordon - Ye Weary Wayfarer. Finis Exoptatus Source: Peter's Pearls, http://www.peterspearls.com.au Subjects: Kindness, Courage ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: THE COST OF CHILDREN The government has 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 a year, $741 a month, or $171 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 you get for your $160,140? Naming rights. First, middle, and last! Glimpses of God every day. Giggles under the covers at 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 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 word, 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 Children And Grandchildren. Submitted by Carol Blum Subjects: Parenting, Children ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: MOTHERS A fifteen-year-old boy came bounding into the house and found his mom in bed. He asked if she were sick or something. He was truly concerned. Mom replied that, as a matter of fact, she didn't feel too well. The son replied, "Well, don't worry a bit about dinner. I'll be happy to carry you down to the stove." ~~~~~~~ A teacher put this question to little John in the arithmetic class. "John, suppose your mother made a peach pie and there were 10 of you at the table... your mother and father and eight children... how much of the pie would you get?" "A ninth, Ma'am," was the prompt answer. "No John. Now pay attention," said the teacher. "There are 10 of you. Ten, remember. Don't you know your fractions?" "Yes Ma'am," was the swift replay of little John, "I know my fractions, but I know my mother, too. She'd say that she didn't want any pie." Mothers, your unselfishness makes an impression on the little ones ~~~~~~~ Quarreling between her two sons prompted the mother to rush to the kitchen. Eight year old Bobby and four year old Jackie were having a tug of war with the cookie jar. Only one cookie remained in the jar, and each boy thought it was his. Taking the cookie jar from the two youngsters, their mother calmly announced. "I'll solve the problem for you. I'll eat the last cookie myself." The boys looked up at their mother in unbelief. Then the four year old, with a mischievous grin on his face said, "Oh, no you won't, Mom. Whoever heard of a selfish mother?" Submitted by Sherri Rimmer, Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, http://www.guidedogs.org Subjects: Mothers ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Riddle: What will go up a chimney down but won't go down a chimney up? Answer below: Answer: an umbrella Submitted by Floyd R. Porter Subjects: Riddles ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: What Three Things Do Mother's Day and Memorial Day Have in Common? The first one's easy. They both happen in May. The second one's easy. They both start with the letter "M'. But it's the third commonality that really sets the tone for both Observances., and that is the fact that they were both inspired at around the same time by people who were moved to do something when they observed Mothers, placing flowers on the graves of their fallen sons - killed during the Civil War. Submitted by Joanne Kull Subjects: Mothers |