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This Year It's Going to Be Different
Will Stanton
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New Year's resolutions are like anything el—you get out of them what you put in.Judging from results of other years, I had never put enough in, but this year was going to be different. I read books on lf-improvement before I wrote my list. Find some beauty in everything .... Make the other fellow feel important .... About thirty like that. Pretty clearly, anyone who followed my collection of rules would be blesd with a richer life,boundless love from his family, and the admiration of the community. I could hardly wait until New Year's Day.
When I came downstairs Maggie, my wife, was at the kitchen sink. I tiptoed over and kisd her on the back of the neck. (Resolution No. 1: Be spontaneous in showing affection. ) She shrieked and dropped a cup. "Don't ever sneak up on5 me like that again!" she cried.
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"You' re looking lovely this morning," I said. (A sincere compliment is worth its weight in gold. )
"Look," she said, "it wasn't my idea to stay out until "
I took some aspirin and coffee into the living room. I'd just started reading the paper when Sammy, our five-year-old, came in. He was wearing the watch he'd received for Christmas. "Say, Dad," he said, "what makes a watch run?''
In the old days I would have told him to ask his mother. Instead, I got a pencil and drew a sketch of the escapement mechanism. (Always encourage your child's curiosity.) It took about fifteen minutes, and Sammy wandered off veral times, but I kept calling him back. "There," I said, "that's what makes your watch run."
"Then how come it doesn' t?' he asked.
huangwangHis brother Roy walked by. "You have to wind it," said Roy. Sammy wound it and held it to his ear. He smiled. "Roy sure is smart," he said.
Our daughter Gretchen came in with her doll, Mrs. Robinson. "Good morning,Gretchen," I said. "Happy New Year, Mrs. Robinson. " (Meet your child at his own level. )
"It isn' t either happy,"said Gretchen~ "Mrs. Robinson is sick. Probably a coro-nary. "
"Why don't you take her to e Dr. Sammy?" I suggested. "He can u his new doctor' s kit."
The phone rang, and I answered it. It was a friend of our daughter Kit. "Happy New Year, Marilyn,' I said. "What have you been doing over the holidays.(Show an interest in your children' s friends. ) She said she hadn' t been doing anything much. "Come now a pretty girl like you," I said jovially—"I'll bet the fellows are swarming around ....What's that? Yes, of cour you can speak to Kit. Certainly."
Kit was in her room with the record player going very loud. I rapped on the door. She called out something, and I went in. She was in her pajamas. "l didn't say you could come in!' she yelled, grabbing a robe and holding it in front of her. At fourteen, she has become extremely aware of being female.
appropriated北京小学通州分校"I'm sorry. I couldn't understand you," I said apologetically. To ea the situation, I picked up her brand-new sweater from the floor and put it over a chair.
"l was going to pick it up," she said defensively. "You don't always put your things away.
open是什么意思edg是啥意思There was a ries of shrieks down the hall. I found Gretchen in tears. Roy and Sammy were about to perform open-heart surgery on Mrs. Robinson with a scout knife. "She told us Mrs. Robinson was sick," Roy said.
I suggested that they carve something for their mother- like a salad spoon16.(Encourage creativity in the young. )
In the kitchen, Maggie wanted to know what was wrong with Gretchen. "Mrs.Robinson had a coronary," I told her.
"1 know you' re not feeling your best after last night," she said, "but I'm getting a little tired of the smart remarks. Would you mind taking the garbage out?"
adept"I'd be happy to,' I said. (The most trivial chore can prove rewarding if approached with zest. )
"Do you have to be so sarcastic?" she said.
It emed that my resolutions weren't working the way the books had said. I didn't quit, though. I helped the boys build a snowman--only Sammy got his feet wet and Roy lost his mittens and they went inside. I played jacks with Gretchen, but she said I didn't do it right. I struck up a conversation with Kit, trying to establish some kind of rapport. I touched on hippies, pop music, dating, morality and so on.She contributed very little.Anybody el would have thrown in the sponge, but I kept trying. For example, Maggie always dreads taking down the Christmas tree, so I thought I'd do it for her. (Take over one of your wife' s chores, she' 11 love you for it. )
