“Is this allIgot?” asked my daughter, Allison. “I asked for a new cellphone!”

“What kind of birthday is this?” asked my son, Blake.

Blake and Allison are twins. Every year, I gave them birthday presents. But they always felt unhappy about not receiving something on their wish list.

I knew I had somewhat spoiled(宠坏)them, but I had no idea it was this bad . I was in shock. How self-centered and unappreciative could my children be?

I was determined to do something.

I found a family living on a farm that badly needed help. There were four children in the family aged from three to eight. I began to visit them every two months.

Soon, Allison and Blake’s birthday was drawing near. I decided to introduce them to the new friends. One day, I woke the kids early and drove them to the farm.

When we arrived, I told my children to take two bags off the car, of which one was filled with food and the other with many boxes full of presents my children would never be satisfied with.

We were welcomed inside with smiles and appreciation. Obviously, Alison and Blake were shocked by what they saw. I could guess they had never expected people would live such a difficult life.

“Look! Presents for you. ”Allison was trying to make the kids happier.

With their parents’ permission(允许), the kids began to pick the boxes up, shake them, and guess what was inside. They were so excited. Allison and Blake encouraged the kids to open the boxes. They did. And there were shouts of surprise and joy: a model car, chocolate …then laughter. Then grateful hugs(拥抱)and sincere “thank-yous” .

At first Alison and Blake looked confused but soon joined the children. Before long, they were laughing, too, proud that they brought happiness there.

On the way home, Alison and Blake were a little quiet. When it was time to go to bed that day, my kids hugged me and said, “Thank you, Mum. ”

The next year, with their birthday nearing, I asked Alison and Blake what presents they wanted.                            

I agreed and offered to drive them to the farm.               

When a tornado(龙卷风) touched down in a small town nearby,many families were left completed ruined. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.

One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered(破碎的) mobile home, a depressed expression on her face. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downward. Clutching(紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I stuck the picture of the young family on our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three-year-old Meghan.

“These poor people now have nothing,” I said. “We’ll share what we have with them. I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.

While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up old toys and games.

Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She came to the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.

“Oh, Honey,” I said.” You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”

Meghan nodded seriously, eyes filled with held-back tears. "Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy,too.”

The boys had watched,open-mouthed,as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box.

I looked my children for a long moment.

Niesha could not forget the way she froze in front of the class today. Mr. Roberts had divided the class into groups to do presentations. Today was Niesha’s turn. However, her hands shook so violently that she couldn’t read her notes. Her voice became softer even to silence. Mr. Roberts kindly ended Niesha’s part of the presentation even though she did clearly not finish. He also asked Niesha to stay after class for a moment.

“Niesha, I know you’re shy, but you worked hard on this project. I’d hate to see you give up on yourself.” Then Mr. Roberts hesitated, “If I give you another chance until tomorrow, do you think you can find your courage?” Niesha nodded, grateful for the chance. She went as quickly as she could to her next class. She kept her head down and hoped the school day would end soon.

When she reached her back steps that afternoon, she could see an inviting light coming from the kitchen windows. Momma was baking. Momma studied Niesha’s face as she came into the kitchen. “What’s wrong, Niesha?”

Tears shone in Niesha’s brown eyes. She told her the whole story. Momma was silent for a moment, her hands still busy with the cake. “Why is it that you can talk to me about anything and everything, but you can’t talk to your class?” Momma asked. She set the timer (计时器) and then said, “Let me show you something.”

Niesha followed Momma to her bedroom. There Momma showed her a book filled with newspaper clippings (剪报) and pictures. In it there was a blue ribbon (丝带) that said “First Place” and a picture of herself when she was very young, standing with her parents.

“I won it for public speaking. I started the school year as the shyest girl on the speech team, but I ended the year as the blue ribbon winner. It wasn’t easy at first-- I was not sure of myself at all. I worked hard, and mostly I faced my fears. You just need to find your courage.”

Hearing Momma’s words, Niesha stared at the precious blue ribbon, lost in thought.

The next day Niesha again walked to the front of the classroom to give her presentation.