The Cost of Raising A Child

Got this from my email today. It tells of the rewards of parenthood and how priceless it is. I love how it makes me feel like a child - together with my child - all over again. You'll never know how it feels like until you're in one.

It truly changes your life forever.
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The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with P5,404,725.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. 

But P5,404,725.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: 
* P300,262.50 a year, 
* P25,021.88 a month, or 
* P6,255.50 a week. 
* That's a mere P893.64 a day! 
* Just over P37.23 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 P5,404,725.00? 
* 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 5,404,725.00, 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 P893.64 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, 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 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 love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!! 

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren !!!!!!! 

It's the best investment you'll make!

I Love Being A Mom

Of every role that I have done and been doing, being a mom I guess is at the top of the list. It gives me a reason to smile that at the end of the day that I have a home to go to where my husband and my baby are eagerly waiting for me.

I can never imagine a happier life than this.

True, the harsh realities of life like paying bills and fees for the baby’s diapers and vaccination set in like a sting every month. But as what the author of a recent article I’ve read, said that she can’t think of anything better to spend her money on than her child.

I’m aware that the above statement may trigger adverse reactions from single people, saying that I am a smug and just have no choice.

But really, had I known that motherhood will be the only thing that can give me pure joy, I could have done it earlier.

When my baby looks at me, wants me and knows that I am his mother, nothing in the world matters anymore. Even if there are work issues to deal with or financial affairs needing to be settled.

I realized that everything I had aspired in life, nothing can be at par with motherhood. It gives me a different feeling of high but at the same time making me tamer.

I learned how to be more patient and understanding when my baby had his bouts with colic when he was just 2 weeks old. I understood how vulnerable my son can be when he’s hurting, reason he’s crying for a few hours at a time. That virtue of patience extended up to the people outside the home. I became more enduring and tolerant of other’s whims and differences.

I discovered that whatever you are in your career or your life, being a mom is a humbling experience. You can’t be domineering or act like a boss. It starts you off to love and take care of somebody without questions or conditions. That’s why they say that parenting is loving your child unconditionally. No ifs, no buts.

But when your baby flashes at you his sweet toothless smile upon seeing you when you get home, loving unconditionally doesn’t feel like work at all. Even if you are dead tired from working and surging through the city’s heavy traffic, all you want to do to see and hug your two great loves.

Being a mom is part of the pie that I am willing to get as much of a slice I can get. And having that piece is what I enjoy doing the most.

At the end of the day, I am just a mommy to my beautiful son – and I am proud of it.