Radio Personality, 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 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 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 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 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, 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 Christmastime when you
give her a plaster mold of your hand.

-- These things I wish for you - tough times and hard
work, disappointment and happiness. To me, it's the
only way to appreciate life.