The price of children 育兒代價

It's from a friend's blog, here, I try to do it in Chinese.

THE PRICE OF CHILDREN 育兒代價

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 really neat!! 最近常看到報導:"養大一個小孩要花多少錢" 這是我第一次把它分門別類寫下.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. 美國政府計算一個中等收入家庭養育一個孩子到十八歲, 要花十六萬一百四十元美金. 但是這還不包括大學學費在入喔.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: 但是如果你把它分析出來, 其實這筆錢還不算什麼. 請看以下分析:
* $8,896.66 a year, 一年要花 八千八多
* $741.38 a month, or 一個月要花七百五左右
* $171.08 a week. 一個禮拜要一百七多
* That's a mere $24.24 a day! 一天要二十五美金吧
* Just over a dollar an hour. 一個小時才一塊多美金而以?.
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. 當然, 如果你想要有錢, 就是不要有小孩. 其實不然.

What do you get for your $160,140? 用這筆錢,你可以得到:
* Naming rights 命名權 / 樂趣
* Glimpses of God every day. 每天神蹟微露
* Giggles under the covers every night. 每晚床單下會出現咯咯地笑聲
* More love than your heart can hold. 更多的愛充滿你
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. 輕輕一吻跟奪命擁抱
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, & warm cookies. 無境暇想石頭,螞蟻,烏雲跟熱餅乾
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate 握著一隻手,通常還附帶粘著果凍或巧克力
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain. 一個伙伴, 可以一起吹氣球, 踼毽子, 蓋沙堡,大雨狂奔
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day. 一個可以陪你笑的人, 不管老闆多爛,股市高低.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to: 為了這筆錢, 你不再長大. 你反而得到:
* finger-paint, 手印畫像
* carve pumpkins, 雕刻南瓜
* play hide-and-seek, 玩抓迷藏
* catch lightning bugs, and 抓螢火蟲
* never stop believing in Santa Claus. 聖誕老人一直都存在

You have an excuse to: 你可以有藉口:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, 繼續唸小熊維尼的探險故事
* watching Saturday morning cartoons, 看星期六早上的卡通
* going to Disney movies, and 看迪士尼電影
* wishing on stars. 跟星星許願
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. 你可以收集彩虹,心狀跟花類磁鐵在冰箱門上, 或收集聖誕節條狀噴霧器, 母親節手印陶土 跟父親節卡片(排字顛倒過來)
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. 以十六萬美金而算, 這是很划算的了.

You get to be a hero just for: 你可以成為一個英雄, 只為了:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, 從車庫屋頂拯救飛盤
* taking the training wheels off a bike, 換?踏車輪子
* removing a splinter, 拿掉刺或碎片
* filling a wading pool, 填滿淺水池
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless. 哄騙到一片口香糖, 領導一群不會贏的棒球隊但總是得到最大獎-冰淇淋

You get a front row seat to history to witness the: 你可以得到史無前例的第一排座位, 親眼目睹:
* first step, 踏出第一步
* first word, 說第一個字
* first date, and 第一次約會
* first time behind the wheel. 第一次掌握方向盤
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 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!!!!!!! 你流芳百世?. 你會有另一半加入族譜. 如果你夠幸運的話, 有一長串的主枝(兒孫輩跟曾孫輩)在你的訃文上. 你可以得到在學位之上的學歷, 在心理學,看護, 犯罪司法, 溝通 跟人類性別學上. 你可以在一個孩子的眼裡看到天父. 你有所有的能力去改過己犯的錯誤, 把躲在床底下的妖怪嚇走, 包裹好一顆破碎的心, 督導睡衣晚會, 罰他們永遠禁足, 跟無止境的愛, 直到有一天, 他們變成像你一樣, 無條件的愛下一代.

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!! 繼續努力的愛你的兒孫們...

What a bargain ! ! ! 賺到了!!!
ENJOY THE JOURNEY!!!!! 享受你的人生!