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.
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 your hand on a stove and stick your
tongue on a frozen flagpole.
If you try a beer, 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, its the only way to appreciate life.
