Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story...

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Price of Children

Close friends and family are privy of the things we go through in Xofia's first 3 years. When recalling, I just laugh at the thought of how it's getting us closer to bankruptcy than we've ever been. Reading the forwarded message below made me realize even more how priceless having Xofia is in our lives. She's about to turn 3 in a few days. And even with just those 3 years, she has filled our lives with countless joy and immeasurable love I can never imagine myself anywhere else.

The Price of Children

Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 (P7,206,300 at P45 to a dollar) for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is, 'don't have children if you want to be 'rich'. Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* 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 jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day..

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

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

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Pooh and Piglet,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

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

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a 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 in 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 lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the 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. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your (future) children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren...

It's the best investment you'll ever make!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

My endless battle with househelp staffing

I have right now a gay househelp. I don't have issues of him being gay, I have issues of him meddling affairs and creating fictional stories just to rouse the humdrum of daily househelp life. The house is too small for two drama queens. I am the crowned drama queen, so by gosh, he has to realize that and move over. I intend to let him go soonest. I just need to find a replacement.

The nanny, I like. However, young as she is, she wanted to go home and rest. When asked if what she's doing at our house is tiring, she said no, that her chores are very light. Now, help me understand that.

I also have reports that these two aren't getting along very smoothly. I think my emotional capacity right now is only about enough to accommodate one kid, not another two overgrown babies who are not mine!

Ergo, I'm letting them both go. We're getting tired of hiring word-of-mouths, husband and I decided to hit the agencies. I don't expect that my battle ends here, for surely, it will only end when my daughter goes to highschool. Or we decided to have more kids, when all these kids go to highschool. Or better yet, when I give up my corporate life and stay at home.

We'd probably hire just one stay-in nanny, and a stay-out laundry woman. The people at home better do their share of household chores.

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