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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.
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.
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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 you 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. . . GOOD DAY!
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