The true cost of having a child

My mom sent this to me through e-mail, I love it! And... since our computer died, it's the best post I know how to do right now. Feel free to copy it to yours if you wish!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising
a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00
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, or
* $171..08 a week.
* That's 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 kiss es 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, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* 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, and
* 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 grandchildren and great
grandchildren.. You get an education in psychology,
nursing, criminal justice, and communications 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 children & grandchildren
& great-grandchildren !!!!!!!
They are the best investment you'll ever make!