As a teenager, I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I found myself refusing to 1 out at home with even the simplest things.
Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother 2 me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she' d rush to the nearby store and buy a week' s worth of 3 . Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back, and 4 for my lesson, you' d think I' d be very 5 to help her bring the groceries into the house. But I wasn' t. I generally just brought in an armload and left the rest for Mom as I ran to my room and shut the door.
Don' t get me wrong. Back in my room, I felt 6 about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my 7 . But I also realized that once I took on more responsibility, my parents would start 8 more from me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would mark something much bigger: my personal change from a spoiled(宠坏的) child to a more 9 young man.
I' ll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n) 10 to try and see what would happen. Returning home from the lesson I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning 11 . Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and 12 back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day! Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The more I helped out, the 13 I felt about myself. As Mom and Dad realized they could 14 on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too.
Sometimes the little things we put off doing for the longest time 15 out to be simplest things to complete. Feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.
