CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ( Anh ngữ) Phần 2

When you realize how much work it is to take care of a house, be thankful you have a house.. Think about those who only wish they had a house to take care of.. Good to Be Home Years ago

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ( Anh ngữ)

Phần 2

Be happy

If you have a bad day at work, be thankful Appreciate that you have a job

Some people don't

When you pay your bills, be thankful You can pay them

If you see a gray hair, be thankful Think of the cancer patient in

chemotherapy who only wishes for any hair

When you find yourself waiting in line or the recipient of poor service, be

thankful Think about the people who have no food to eat at all

When you realize how much work it is to take care of a house, be thankful

you have a house Think about those who only wish they had a house to take

care of

When you feel like complaining because you have to walk a long distance

from your car, be thankful Think of what it would be like not to be able to

walk!

If you get irritated by other people's anger, apathy, ignorance, bitterness, or

insecurities, be thankful Things could be worse You could be one of them!

When you think everything in your world is terrible, and you want to give

up, think of the people who have been told they only have a certain amount

of time to live They don't want to give up

Good to Be Home

Years ago when my three boys were just wee ones, my old high-school

friend, Marge, invited me to lunch at her home in a nearby upscale

subdivision She was a teacher, had never married and had recently

purchased a condominium

The minute I walked into her home, I knew there was something different

about it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was I put my finger on

the kitchen counter while admiring her tile, and realized what was so

different The counter wasn't sticky Upon closer inspection, I saw that there

wasn't any peanut butter oozing down the kitchen cabinets, no Kool-Aid

puddle on the floor or cookie crumbs on the place mats No one had left the

half-gallon carton of milk out or put the mayonnaise back in the fridge

without the lid

After lunch, we sauntered into Marge's living room to sip our coffee and

reminisce about the "good old days" and ponder "whatever happened to?" I

was immediately struck by the fact that her stereo turntable cover didn't have

fingerprints of assorted sizes all over it, and none of her records were

warped from being used as Frisbees

When Marge gave me directions to the bathroom, I made my way up a flight

of stairs which weren't covered with Hot Wheels tracks, slinky toys or

yo-yos Being the only female in a house with four males, I always approached

bathrooms with caution I carefully opened the door and there was no potty

seat to be removed from the toilet And wonder of wonders! the seat was

down I peeked behind the shower curtain, and there wasn't a turtle or frog to

be seen in the tub just a pretty bottle of perfumed bath crystals where

usually I saw a soggy box of Soaky Fun Bubbles

After a delightful afternoon of bringing each other up to date on our lives, I

bade Marge good-bye, each of us promising the other that we would do this

more often I climbed into my clunky station wagon and headed home,

wondering what series of crises would be reported to me by the sitter upon

my arrival It always seemed that when I treated myself to a day out, I was

penalized by having to deal with all sorts of mishaps, spillage, clutter and

fights that had occurred in my absence The highway stretched before me,

and I slowed my speed trying to put off the inevitable I felt vaguely sorry

for myself I dawdled in the grocery store, not knowing what to get for

dinner

No one was in the yard when I pulled in, and the dogs didn't come out

snapping at the grocery bag It was suspiciously quiet inside the house, and I

called out, "Where is everybody?

"In the bathroom," came the reply

"Great," I sighed "What is it this time?"

When I went to the kitchen to deposit the groceries, it was noticeably free of

dirty dishes and food morsels

"We cleaned our room and the kitchen and now we're giving the dogs a

bath," my eldest proudly proclaimed, as I approached the bathroom

wondering what was going on

Our two black Labrador retrievers were totally immersed in Soaky Fun

Bubbles and, upon seeing me, leapt from the tub; two white clouds with

white tails, knocked me to the sudsy floor, each bestowing a slurpy

"welcome home" lick on my face The three little boys and two big dogs

thought this was wonderful entertainment, and we all slipped and slid around

on the bathroom floor, bubbles everywhere, laughing hysterically

I surveyed the ridiculous scene around me, and for some reason I couldn't

explain, I felt sorry for Marge