I want my Grandkids to learn better

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made many things 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. My mom made me think that getting a slice of bread with just some ketchup spread on it was a treat. I hope they learn the value of some simple things.

I hope they never think it's a waste of time to bend over and pick up a penny when theysee one on the ground. And think to themselves that they found free money.

I hope they learn humility by being humiliated, and that they learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope they learn to make their own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives them a brand new car when they are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time they can see puppies born and their old dog put to sleep.
I hope they get a black eye fighting for something they believe in.

I hope they have to share a bedroom with their younger brother or sister. And it's all right if they have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when they want to crawl under the covers with you because they are scared, I hope you let them.

When they want to see a movie and their little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope they'll let him/her. I hope they have to walk uphill to school with their friends and that they live in a town where they can do it safely.

On rainy days when they have to catch a ride, I hope they don't ask their driver to drop them two blocks away so they won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as their Mom..

If they want a slingshot, I hope their Dad teaches them how to make one instead of buying one.I hope they learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When they learn to use computers, I hope they also learn to add and subtract in their head.

I hope they get teased by their friends when they have their first crush on a boy or girl, and when they talk back to their mother that they learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May they skin their knee climbing a mountain, burn their hand on a stove and stick their tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if they try a beer once, but I hope they don't like it. And if a friend offers them dope or a joint, I hope they realize they are not your friend.

I sure hope they make time to sit on a porch with me someday and even listen to me tell them some story for the fifth time and act like they've never heard me tell it before.

I hope they learn to feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope their mother punishes them when they throw a baseball through their neighbor's window and that she hugs them and kisses them at Christmas time when they give her a plaster mold of their hand.

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

I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.