The Price of Children

Mother's Day passed in rather a blur this year...from The State Newspaper I am sharing excerpts from a Mother's Day article that was funny, sweet and in honor of Mom's and "mom-like" women everywhere...to those with their own children I honor you, to those without I honor you (most of you are "moms" anyway)

the following comments are from a group of second graders:

Why did God Make Mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born

What ingredients are Mothers made of?

1. God makes Mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world - one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?

1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.

What's the difference between moms and dads/

1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.

4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time

2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it, not me.

The Price of Children:

"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. That doesn't even touch college tuition...(skipping some)

It breaks down to about $24.24 a day, just over a dollar an hour...What do you get for your $160,140?

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 partner for blowing bubbles and flying kits. Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, 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. For a mere $24.24 a day you get to be a hero 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. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power - to heal a boo-boo, scare aways 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 a quite a deal for the price." (May5, 2009 The State)

ALL THAT AND SO MUCH MORE AND IF YOU ARE REALLY LUCKY YOU MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR GROWN CHILDREN! YOU HAVE GRANDCHILDREN AND GET TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN (except for the yucky parts and we let THEIR Moms and Dads handle that stuff)

I am thankful for ALL the women that have impacted my life and those that continue to do so...Thanks Mom! We all nuture each other in so many ways. I hope each of you has a glorious weekend!!!