做妈妈的一课　A Mother’s Lesson

Don't wait to make your son a great man——make him a great boy.

～Author Unknown

While driving my eleven-year-old son, Bailey, to school, I was on my cell phone sharing my excitement about the wonderful stories we received for this book, Chicken Soup for the Soul：My Resolution. When I ended my call, Bailey asked if he could write a story.I was surprised by his request and asked if he had“resolved”to do something different in his life.How could he possibly have a resolution to make in his perfect world?His reply surprised me, as I had no idea that he even understood the concept of resolutions.He said，“I have resolved to be nicer to younger children and of course……make more goals during this soccer season.”

My son is an only child, and the first boy born into a family that was accustomed to raising girls. He has grandparents who love to buy him“boy”toys and spoil him like crazy.My son is fortunate enough to have multiple gaming systems and more Hot Wheels cars and Lego sets than anyone he knows.Bailey has always been kind-hearted and generous with older kids and has never had a problem inviting them to join his fun.However, when it comes to younger kids, he falls short.He gets easily frustrated when they touch his Lego creations, play with his favorite Hot Wheels, or fail to understand how to play his video games.

My husband and I have many friends with younger children who visit regularly. Each time before they arrive, we tell Bailey who is coming over and how we would appreciate it if he were patient and nice to the younger kids so that the adults can enjoy themselves.He starts out great, but as the night wears on his patience wears out.I found it interesting that our instructions did not fall on deaf ears and that he was voluntarily making an official resolution to include the younger kids in his play and show more patience.

As I continued to drive, I reflected on our conversation and realized that Bailey had actually been implementing his resolution all along without telling us or looking for praise. The last time our friend's son, Brayden, came over, Bailey invited him into his room and took out the tub of Legos.Instead of getting frustrated that Brayden was not building correctly, according to Bailey's standards, he allowed him to create his own version of an airplane or fort.When it was time to play video games, instead of telling Brayden he was too young to understand the concept, he gave him an“unplugged”controller and let Brayden believe he was in the middle of the battlefield right alongside Bailey.

As parents, we often feel as if our instructions or requests fall on deaf ears, but now I realize that my son has been listening all along. He is growing and maturing and striving to be a better person, just like all of us“resolving”adults.I dropped him off at school with love and admiration for my little boy who is becoming an amazing young man before my eyes.

～D'ette Corona

想要孩子成为伟大的人，那就从小抓起。

——佚名

自从本书《心灵鸡汤：我的决心》开始征稿以来，我们收到了很多精彩的投稿。有一天，在开车送11岁的儿子贝利去上学的路上，我一边开车一边打着电话。在电话里，我兴高采烈地谈论着投稿人讲述的精彩经历。打完电话，儿子问我：“妈妈，我能不能也给你们投篇稿啊？”儿子的这个请求让我有点纳闷，我就问他：“你有没有下过决心要在生活中作出什么改变呢？”生活在安乐窝里的儿子还要下什么决心吗？我甚至都不知道这小家伙明不明白什么是“决心”。但是儿子的回答却超出了我的想象，他说道：“我下决心要对比自己小的小朋友更友好，当然……我还下决心要在这个足球赛季多进球。”

我们家的孩子以女孩居多，儿子是这个家庭的独生子，是爷爷奶奶的掌上明珠。二老经常给他买各种各样的玩具，别提多宠爱他了。幸福的儿子手中有着各种游戏盘、“风火轮”赛车和“乐高”积木，他的玩具数量比周围所有的孩子都多。贝利对比他年纪大一点的大孩子很友好、很大方，经常叫他们一起玩。可是呢，他跟比自己年纪小的小朋友总玩不到一块儿。这些年纪小的小朋友要是碰碰他的积木、玩玩他的玩具车或者不会玩他的电子游戏，贝利心里就不是滋味，会大发脾气。

我和老公有很多朋友经常来我们家做客，他们的孩子大多数都比贝利小。每次朋友来之前，我和老公都跟儿子说谁会来，让他耐心点和小朋友好好玩，让我们大人们能玩得开心。贝利刚开始都能好好表现，可是玩着玩着就失去耐心了。我很高兴，知道原来儿子非但没有把我们的话当成耳旁风，而且还下决心要和年纪小的小朋友一起玩，对他们更有耐心。

在开车的路上，我思考与儿子之间的对话，发现儿子其实一直在默默执行自己的决心——他没有跟我们说，也没有希望得到我们的肯定和表扬。上一次，朋友家的孩子小布莱登来我们家，儿子把他叫到自己的房间里，拿出自己的积木给他玩。小布莱登没有按照儿子的标准来搭积木，可是儿子没有发火，而是让小布莱登随心所欲地拼机场和城堡。到玩电子游戏的时候，儿子没有嫌小布莱登太小不会玩。相反，儿子把游戏手柄交给他（这次儿子没有拔掉手柄的电源），让小布莱登觉得能够参与其中，一起玩游戏。

为人父母，我们总是感觉孩子把我们的教诲当成耳旁风。现在我明白了，原来儿子一直都在听。和我们这些信誓旦旦的大人一样，儿子正在成熟长大，也在不断努力使自己成为更优秀的人。到学校了，儿子下车了。眼前的儿子正成长为令人刮目相看的小伙子，我的心中满是赞赏与欢喜。

——戴特·科罗娜