These Things I Wish for You
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made
them worse.
For my grandchildren, Id know better.
Id really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and
home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.
My cherished grandson, I hope you learn humility by surviving
failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is
looking.
I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car
-- and I hope nobody gives you a brand-new car when you are
sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can see a baby calf born,
and you have a good friend to be with you if you ever have to put
your old dog 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 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 hes
scared, I hope youll let him.
And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants
to tag along, I hope you take him.
I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live
in a town where you can do it safely.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your father teaches you how to make
one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and
read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how
to add and subtract in your head.
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 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.
I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I dont
care if you try beer once, but I hope you wont like it. And if a
friend offers you a joint or any drugs, I hope you are smart enough
to realize that person is not your friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go
fishing with your uncle.
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through a
neighbors window, and that she hugs you and kisses you when you
give her a plaster of paris mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you -- tough times and disappointment, hard
work and happiness.
By Lee Pitts
from Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul
