整洁的房间被孩子们搞得乱七八糟，一片狼藉，你是生气呢？还是像文中这位妈妈一样沉浸在幸福之中？

　　A friend and I were standing in line at the grocery store the other day, and I was telling her how lazy my children were. I had come in from work that morning, and like most times, my house was wrecked.

　　“I believe children nowadays are just out for what they can get. I bend over backwards for them, and they can't even help me keep our house clean. It wouldn't bother me so, but it's the woman who looks bad if the house is a mess.”

　　“Do you know how blessed you are?” a woman behind us asked. “I would love to go home and find my house a mess. I wouldn't mind my carpet being ruined or the dishes left everywhere. I wouldn't mind dirty clothes being piled high or many socks to match. I

　　wouldn't even mind anyone talking about my dirty home. As a matter of fact, I would love it. I would dearly love to kick my way through the house just to get to my kids and be able to hug them, kiss them and tell them how much I love them. You see, my two children were killed in an auto accident and now there are just my husband and me in my house. My house stays clean, my clothes stay put up and the dishes are done. There are no fingerprints on my walls, no mysterious spots on my carpets. There are no sounds of arguing, no slamming doors, no laughter, no ‘I love you, Mom.' So you see, you are very blessed. What I would like to be going through is just what you are right now. How I would love to be able to hold my kids, wipe away their tears, share their dreams or just to watch them play. If I had my children, I wouldn't care how my house looked. I would be happy just to have them. ”

　　Now if you come into my house and see a big mess, you can think bad thoughts if you want, but I feel greatly blessed.

　　幸福是什么

　　一天我跟朋友在杂货店前排队买东西，我在向她抱怨我孩子们的懒惰。那天上午我下班回来之后，房子像往常一样被搞得乱七八糟。

　　“我觉得现在的孩子只知道努力想得到他们想要的东西。为了他们我拼命地工作，但是他们连帮我保持房子清洁都做不到。我也不愿意为这个心烦，但如果房子里杂乱的话就会显得女主人很糟糕。”

　　“你知道你有多么幸福吗?”站在我们身后的妇女问道。“我倒是宁愿回家时发现房子里一团糟。我不会介意地毯被弄脏或是碗碟到处乱丢，不会介意脏衣服堆成堆或是一些袜子需要分拣。我甚至不会介意任何人谈论我家的脏乱。事实上，我很喜欢那样。我会非常愿意在杂乱的房子里穿行，只要能靠近我的孩子，可以抱他们, 吻他们，并且告诉他们我是多么地爱他们。你知道，我的两个孩子在车祸中丧生了，现在家中只剩下我和丈夫二人。我房子很干净。衣服摆放整齐，碗碟收拾利索。我家的墙上没有手指印，地毯上没有不知名的污渍。没有争吵声，没有摔门声，没有笑声，没有‘我爱你, 妈妈。'所以你瞧，你是很幸福的。我想经受的正是你现在所拥有的。我多想能抱起我的孩子，擦干他们的眼泪，分享他们的梦想, 或是仅仅看着他们玩耍就满足了。如果我能拥有我的孩子，我不会管我的房子看起来会怎样。只要有他们我就会觉得幸福。”

　　现在如果你到我家看到一片狼藉，随你怎么想，只要我觉得非常幸福就够了。

　　(文/孙淑敏； 英语辅导报高一版 04~05学年度第21期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)