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 meatloaf 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, and 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 un-cool 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 when 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!

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!