These Things I Wish

-- By Lee Pitts

We've all been told by our grandparents how they walked or rode their horses six miles uphill to school in the snow and then six miles uphill to come home. During the depression there was no coasting on the downhill, so it was understandable that the corn huskers, the oakies, and the prune pickers wanted things to be better for their kids and grandkids.

For most folks that meant uprooting their family from the country and attempting to send down roots through the concrete of the big city. Along with this new way of life came a new way of looking at things. That old jalopey that carried the hopes and dreams of entire families out of the dust bowl. Now has a bumper sticker on it that reads; "He who dies with the most toys wins!" Personally I want more than that for America's young future.

I want them to have hand-me-down clothes, homemade ice cream, and leftover meat loaf. For the good of our country and our children these things I wish for you. I hope you someday know the love of a pony and the pain of saddle sores. May you learn to appreciate the magic of a firefly and the majesty of a mountain.

I truly wish nobody gives you a brand new car when you turn sixteen. And I hope you have a job by then. I hope your parents insist that you wash the dishes, make your bed and mow the lawn. I wish for you the chance to see a baby calf or colt to be born, and to see your old dog put 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 or sister. Sure, it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, indicating your half of the space, but when they want to crawl under the covers at night with you because they're scared, I hope you'll let them.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do so safely. On rainy days, when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to entertain yourself early in life by digging in the dirt and reading good books. Here's hoping you discover how glorious church can make a Sunday. May you experience that feel good emotion by putting part or your allowance in the collection plate. And of singing hymns off key at the top of your voice.

I hope you learn humility by getting humiliated, and that you find out about honesty by getting cheated. May you learn to vacuum the carpet, wash the car, and change the oil.

I hope you go to college but not if it's just to avoid the real world. I trust you will learn to use those new fangled computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head. I don't care what you want to be when you grow up, but if you want to be a doctor I hope it's not just because they make a lot of money.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl. When you talk back to your mother, I hope you learn what soap tastes like.

(I add, I sincerely hope you NEVER have television reception;)

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove. May you get beat when you compete. And may you never experience an undefeated season. Win or lose may you look forward to the next competition.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May you feel the sorrow at a funeral and know the real meaning of Christmas. I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through the neighbor's plate glass window. But I hope she hugs you and give you a kiss when you bring her a plaster of paris mold of your hand print. May you laugh at the rodeo clown, cry when it hurts, and swell with pride at the sight of Old Glory.

Above all these things I wish for you - tough times, disappointment, hard work, and most of all love!

Here's to lots and lots of smiles! Have a Happy Day! We love you!!!!