Animals.

If anyone out there is debating about whether to get a dog, cat, or other pet either as a companion or for the kids, please make sure you have the willingness to stick it out through the good and bad times. In the long run, the benefits outweigh the "accidents" and other incidents that occur while raising them.

The interaction of them with my family has been something they will never forget, and something I couldn't imagine them living without. Learning responsibility, and having a friend to play with in the snow; staying in on a rainy day and having a "buddy" to lounge around with on the couch. Having experienced it as a kid myself -I feel I would be depriving my kids from such an experience if I didn't let them have the same opportunity.

At times, as my wife says, it's like having another baby in the house. But in the next breath, it is an example of unconditional love.

....and is that a bad thing?