Paul Harvey Writes:
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 them 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/sister. 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/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.
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 boy/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 Grandma/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 Hannukah/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.
Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm
here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.
Send this to all of your friends. We secure
our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them.