Tommy’s Essay
A gray sweater hung limply on Tommy’s empty desk，a reminder of the dejected boy who had just followed his classmates from our thirdgrade room.Soon Tommy’s parents，who had recently separated，would arrive for a conference on his failing schoolwork and disruptive behavior.Neither parent knew that I had summoned the other.
Tommy，an only child，had always been happy，cooperative and an excellent student.How could I convince his father and mother that his recent failing grades represented a brokenhearted child’s reaction to his adored parents’separation and pending divorce？
Tommy’s mother entered and took one of the chairs I had placed near my desk.Soon the father arrived.Good！At least they were concerned enough to be prompt.A look of surprise and irritation passed between them，and then they pointedly ignored each other.
As I gave a detailed account of Tommy’s behavior and schoolwork，I prayed for the right words to bring these two together，to help them see what they were doing to their son.But somehow the words wouldn’t come.Perhaps if they saw one of his smudged，carelessly done papers.
I found a crumpled tearstained sheet stuffed in the back of his desk，an English paper.Writing covered both sides—not the assignment，but a single sentence scribbled over and over.
Silently I smoothed it out and gave it to Tommy’s mother.She read it and then without a word handed it to her husband.He frowned.Then his face softened.He studied the scrawled words for what seemed an eternity.
At last he folded the paper carefully，placed it in his pocket，and reached for his wife’s outstretched hand.She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at him.My own eyes were brimming，but neither seemed to notice.He helped her with her coat and they left together.
In his own way God had given me the words to reunite that family.He had guided me to the sheet of yellow copy paper covered with the anguished8outpouring of a small boy’s troubled heart.
The words，“Dear Mom...Dear Daddy ...I love you ...I love you ...I love you.”
汤米的随笔
一件灰色套衫搭在汤米的空桌上，让人想起这个情绪低落的男孩，他刚随同学从三年级教室出去。汤米最近分居的父母马上就要来学校，讨论他每况愈下的学习成绩和捣蛋行为。父母双方都不知道对方要来。
汤米是个独子，一直生活幸福，乐意合作，而且是个出色的学童。我怎能使他的父母相信他近来学习成绩下降是一个心碎的孩子对他敬爱的父母分居和即将离异的反应呢？
汤米的母亲进屋后坐在我放在我桌旁的其中一把椅子上。不一会儿他的父亲也来了。不错！至少他们还够关心他，能准时来校。他们之间交换了一下惊奇和气恼的眼色，然后明显流露出无视对方的神色。
我详细叙述汤米的表现和学习情况，苦苦寻求恰当的词语以图把他们俩撮合在一起，帮助他们认识到他们的所作所为给孩子造成的后果。但是不知怎么的就是找不到适当的话。或许如果他们看看汤米的一纸脏污、漫不经心写的作业……
我在他桌子深处找到一张皱巴巴的满是泪迹的纸。那是张英语作业纸，正反两面潦潦草草地写满了字，但不是布置的作业，而是翻来覆去的一句话。
我默默地把它捋平，递给了汤米的母亲。她看完后没吭一声给了她丈夫。他先是皱着眉，而后脸色变温和了。他仔细盯着潦草的字看了似乎无穷无尽的一段时间。
最后，他小心翼翼地折起纸，把它放进口袋里，手伸向他妻子伸出的手。她擦去眼里的泪水，抬头朝她的丈夫露出笑容。我也热泪盈眶，但是他们俩谁也没注意到。汤米的父亲帮妻子穿上大衣，然后俩人一起走了出去。
上帝以自己的方式给了我使这一家破镜重圆的词语，他把我引向了那张满是一个小男孩苦恼心情的痛苦倾诉的黄色作业纸。
那张纸上写着：“亲爱的妈妈……亲爱的爸爸……我爱你们……我爱你们……我爱你们。”
Hearts in Eyes
Cody started life weighing 24ounces.
Due to extreme prematurity，our son had eye surgery to prevent blindness.As a result of the surgery，he lost peripheral vision in his right eye.And his near sightedness would mean glasses and close monitoring by an ophthalmologist for the rest of his life.
Such a small price to pay，in our opinion，compared to the alternative.
Cody wore glasses with great pride，making it abundantly clear to his little brothers that Mommy and Daddy also wore glasses，and wasn’t it a shame that they didn’t have any themselves.This usually prompted a round of begging from his siblings that it was only fair they get glasses，too.
Then kindergarten happened.
One day，a couple of kids at recess derailed Cody’s bright outlook on having glasses in his possession.One boy said，your glasses look stupid，Cody.Another kid yanked them off his face and bent them.
Cody was a timid，small child.Seeing tears well up in his eyes，as he recounted the event，wrung our hearts dry.
Just recently though，something changed his outlook.
It was the morning of Valentine’s Day.I shut off the alarm and groped around in the dark until I found my glasses.I donned them and without turning on the light，blindly made my way to the bathroom.I flipped the bathroom switch，and there I discovered why it was extra dark in my bedroom.
My husband，Stephen，had placed two red heart stickers on my glasses.And plastered all over the mismatched antique mirrors above our bathroom basins were the same stickers.
“VALENTINE，”my husband had scrawled on one mirror，“I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH！”
In one mirror was drawn a stick arm with a hand pointing west.And in the other mirror was the same thing pointing east.I was chuckling under my breath，so as not to wake the rest of the household，while staring at my reflection.
I penned my response in the mirror，“Thanks to you，sweetie，I’ve got hearts in my eyes！”
While dressing Cody for school，he whispered，“Mom？”
“Yes，big boy？”I whispered back.
“You got hearts on your glasses.”
“Yep，I sure do.”
“You’re funny，Mom，”he said，his eyes sparkling.We both climbed into the cab of the pickup truck，where other hearts ambushed us.Stuck to the steering wheel was a heart.Another one was on the rearview mirror，on my truck key，on the stick shift，and on my wallet.All compliments of my hearthappy husband.
I peeled the hearts from my glasses and handed them to Cody.He stuck them carefully on his own glasses and smiled the whole way to school.
I parked in front of his school.
“Get your book bag，sweetie，”I said.
“Mom，can I wear my hearts to class？”
I debated it for a moment.Pulling a “stunt”like this could go either way.But the pleading in his eyes sealed8it for me.How could I deny him what may turn out to be a fun opportunity？
“I don’t see why not，big boy.”
I placed two hearts on my own glasses，and together we entered his school，hand in hand，parting the crowd in the hallway on our way to his classroom.
“Ha！Look at Cody Oliver！He’s got hearts on his glasses！”one observer called out.
“Oh，look at Cody！How cute！”shouted another，pointing and giggling.
Cody smiled shyly，gripping my hand for dear life.
When we arrived at the doorway，classmates gathered around my little guy，while I saw him trying to shake off the biggest grin I’d ever seen on his face.
“That’s neat！Hearts on your glasses！”
“Cody，can I try them on？”
One little girl tugged at my sleeve.“Mrs.Oliver？”
“Yes？”
“I wish I had glasses.”
