Showing posts with label moments in time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moments in time. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Cost of Raising a Child
Chase is dating a girl with an adorable 18 month old baby and it has been a real eye opener for him. While shopping at Wal-Mart last night, he text me. Here is what was said...
Chase- : D Having a kid is expensive. (as if I didn't already know)
Me- Try having four.
Chase- No thanks!
Our short conversation brought to memory a Court of Honor that I attended, where the Boy Scout's father read the following thought provoking piece:
The Cost of Raising a Child
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 price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down..
It translates into:
$8,896.66 a year,
$741.38 a month,
$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 $160,140.00?
* 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 jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish 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 a mere $24.24 a day, 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 a 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 in history to witness the:
* First step
* First word
* First joke
* First date
* 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 and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
It's the best investment you'll ever make.
If anyone knows who the author is, please let me know. I would like to give credit where it is due.
Chase- : D Having a kid is expensive. (as if I didn't already know)
Me- Try having four.
Chase- No thanks!
Our short conversation brought to memory a Court of Honor that I attended, where the Boy Scout's father read the following thought provoking piece:
The Cost of Raising a Child
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 price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down..
It translates into:
$8,896.66 a year,
$741.38 a month,
$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 $160,140.00?
* 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 jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish 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 a mere $24.24 a day, 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 a 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 in history to witness the:
* First step
* First word
* First joke
* First date
* 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 and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
It's the best investment you'll ever make.
If anyone knows who the author is, please let me know. I would like to give credit where it is due.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Como Se Dice "Don't Break My Routine" en Espanol?
Cody loves holidays AND speaking Spanish, therefore, I think it's appropriate to air out my archives and share the following experience, originally posted October 4, 2010.
When Cody was in high school, he chose Spanish as one of his electives. He enjoyed it so much that he took it his sophomore, junior and senior year.
Every day, at the beginning of the period, the entire class would, in unison, say the alphabet in Spanish. One particular day, this important part of the routine was skipped. Cody became upset and no one could figure out why. Of course Cody would never just come out and say what was bothering him. By the end of the period, tears were streaking down his cheeks and when the bell rang, he would not budge! When the teachers and peer tutor finally figured out Cody was upset because the class didn't say the alphabet, they tried to convince him it would be okay. The class would be sure to remember to say the alphabet the next day. However, no amount of coaxing or persuading would get Cody out of that desk!
When students of the next period began to arrive, the teachers realized something needed to be done about Cody, who by this time was full on crying and causing a scene. They decided to pick Cody up, desk and all, and move him into the hall.
I don't remember what happened after that. Obviously Cody eventually calmed down and got over it, but I'm not sure his Spanish teacher ever did.
When Cody was in high school, he chose Spanish as one of his electives. He enjoyed it so much that he took it his sophomore, junior and senior year.
Every day, at the beginning of the period, the entire class would, in unison, say the alphabet in Spanish. One particular day, this important part of the routine was skipped. Cody became upset and no one could figure out why. Of course Cody would never just come out and say what was bothering him. By the end of the period, tears were streaking down his cheeks and when the bell rang, he would not budge! When the teachers and peer tutor finally figured out Cody was upset because the class didn't say the alphabet, they tried to convince him it would be okay. The class would be sure to remember to say the alphabet the next day. However, no amount of coaxing or persuading would get Cody out of that desk!
When students of the next period began to arrive, the teachers realized something needed to be done about Cody, who by this time was full on crying and causing a scene. They decided to pick Cody up, desk and all, and move him into the hall.
I don't remember what happened after that. Obviously Cody eventually calmed down and got over it, but I'm not sure his Spanish teacher ever did.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Chase Trimmed His Beard and I Didn't Think He Looked Gay Enough, So I Made Him Wear a Cowboy Outfit
(Not really. Those were Chase's words, but they made me laugh.)
We had family photo's taken May 1st. Here's a recap for those of you who are not regular readers of my blog...
The last time our family had pictures professionally taken was about twenty-five years ago. We were a family of four then; Cody was around five years old and Chase was a baby. Don and I have two more children, Casey (twenty-one) and Katelyn (nineteen), who have never been part of a professional family picture. You may be thinking "How horrible! What kind of mother doesn't want pictures taken of her family?" Well...look at the following snapshot of my kids and I think you'll understand.
Anyway...an hour before our appointment, Chase and Casey decided to complain (a lot) about the clothing Katelyn and I chose for them to wear.
AND...about twenty minutes before we were suppose to leave the house, Cody fell asleep in the recliner!
Once we were on location, however, things went fairly well. Despite dealing with my boy's negative attitudes, gusty winds, Cody's hatred of the great outdoors, and cold temperatures, I have high hopes that our family photographs will be great. And, even if they aren't, I will cherish them forever, because I will NOT go through this again!...at least until one of them gets married :)
We had family photo's taken May 1st. Here's a recap for those of you who are not regular readers of my blog...
The last time our family had pictures professionally taken was about twenty-five years ago. We were a family of four then; Cody was around five years old and Chase was a baby. Don and I have two more children, Casey (twenty-one) and Katelyn (nineteen), who have never been part of a professional family picture. You may be thinking "How horrible! What kind of mother doesn't want pictures taken of her family?" Well...look at the following snapshot of my kids and I think you'll understand.
Anyway...an hour before our appointment, Chase and Casey decided to complain (a lot) about the clothing Katelyn and I chose for them to wear.
 |
| Before dressing, Chase made himself (and everyone else) laugh by putting on one of Cody's "wife beaters". |
Once we were on location, however, things went fairly well. Despite dealing with my boy's negative attitudes, gusty winds, Cody's hatred of the great outdoors, and cold temperatures, I have high hopes that our family photographs will be great. And, even if they aren't, I will cherish them forever, because I will NOT go through this again!...at least until one of them gets married :)
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