PAID IN FULL

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he
handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an
apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing
through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he had written on, and this is what

she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing
inside me: No Charge.
For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and
prayed for you: No Charge.
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused
through the years: No Charge.
For all the nights filled with dread, and for the worries I
knew were ahead: No Charge.
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose:
No Charge.

When you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had
written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked
straight up at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.”
And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:
“PAID IN FULL.”