DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST TO RAISE A KID THESE DAYS?

•••CHILD~WORTHY?•••

It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month or $171.08 a week until they are grown and on their own....

You might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be rich. It's just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle and last.

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

YOU never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep reading the adventures of Piglet, Pooh and Tigger too, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray-painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward letters for Father's Day...

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a sliver, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front-row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're really blessed, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice.

In the eyes of your child, you rank right up there with God.

You have the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever

and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

Sounds Like a GOOD DEAL to ME!!!

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This article was submitted by Elaine Knight!