- WHAT I WISH FOR YOU... -

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, homemade ice cream & leftover meat loaf sandwiches - i really would - i hope you learn humility by being humiliated & that you learn honesty by being cheated - i hope you learn to make your own bed, mow the lawn & wash the car - i really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you're sixteen - it'll be good if at least one time you can see puppies born & 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/sister - 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 & your little brother/sister wants to tag along, i hope you'll let him/her - i hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends & 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 & read books - when you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add & subtract in your head - i hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl & 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 & 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 - if a friend offers you dope or a joint, i hope you realize he's not your friend - i sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandma/grandpa & go fishing with your uncle - may you feel sorrow at a funeral & joy during the holidays - i hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window & that she hugs you & kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand - these things i wish for you - tough times & disappointment, hard work & happiness - to me, it's the only way to appreciate life - written with a pen, sealed with a kiss, i'm here for you & if i die before you do, i'll go to heaven & wait for you - send this to all of your friends - we secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them... paul harvey