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THINGS I WISH FOR YOU
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We tried so hard to make things better for our kids
that we made them worse.
For my grandchildren I know better.
I'd like them to know about hand-me-down clothes
and homemade ice cream and left over meatloaf.
I really would.
My cherished grandson,
I hope you learn humility
by being humiliated
and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your bed
and mow the lawn and wash the car -
and I hope that nobody gives you a brand-new car
when you are 16.
And I hope you have a job by then.
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It will be good
if at least one time you can see a baby calf born
and see your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting
for something you believe in.
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I hope you have to share a bedroom
with your younger brother.
And it is all right 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'll let him.
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I hope you have to walk uphill
with your friends and that you live in a town
where you can do it safely.
And rainy days when you have to hitch a ride,
I hope your driver doesn't have to drop you two blocks away
so you won't be seen riding with somebody
as uncool as your mom.
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If you want a slingshot
I hope your father teaches you how to
make one instead of buy one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt
and read books,
and when you learn to use those new fangled computers,
you also learn how to add and subtract in your head.
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I hope you get razzed by friends
when you have your first crush on a girl,
and that when you talk back to your mother
I hope you learn what Ivory soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain,
burn your hand on the stove,
and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
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I hope you get sick
when some stupid old person blows cigar smoke in your face.
I don't care if you try beer once,
but I hope you won't like it.
And if a friend offers you a joint or any dope
I hope you are smart enough to realize
that he is not your friend.
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I sure hope you make it in time
to sit on a porch with your grandpa
or go fishing with your uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral
and the joy of holidays.
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I hope your mother punishes you
when you throw a baseball through a neighbor's window
and that she hugs you
and kisses you at Christmas time,
when you give her a plaster of Paris mold of your hand.
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These things I wish for you -
tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.
(by Paul Harvey)
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Last updated 2000.4.5
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