When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer as we get older.

    For kids, happiness has a magical quality: Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫不掩饰的).

    In the teenage years, the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.

    In adulthood the things that bring deep joy－love, marriage, birth－also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated (复杂的).

    My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook(忽视) the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.

    I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunchbox and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

    Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children，had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her most.

    We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.

    Happiness isn't about what happens to us－it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

    It was a late Wednesday night when the dreading phone call reached our home. I sat up, somehow terrified, so I could hear the phone call better. To my surprise, I heard my mom burst into tears. “Get the car, Dean! Andrea has been in a car accident.”

    We ran every stop sign on the way to the hospital and our tires screeched around every corner. We got to the hospital, but were not allowed to see Andrea. The next morning, after wearing masks, we were allowed to go to the ICU to see Andrea. Well, the least I could say was that everything was injured in her body and she lost all of her memories. It was a fatal accident.

    Over the next two months, I lived more at the hospital than I did at my house. I watched as Andrea worked so hard to gain back everyday motor skills. She never once complained or pitied herself; her determined spirit was shining through. After two weeks in the ICU and two months of the regular hospital treatment, Andrea was able to come home. She missed several months of school, so it was hard for her to catch up. Andrea had tasks to accomplish, and no matter how hard it was, she stuck with them until the job was done. Though busy with dealing with pain and therapy, she always found time to love and play with me.

    I'll never forget the impact that this incident made on my life. I admire her strong-willed personality and her determined spirit. Today she is perfectly normal, despite the scars and the pins holding her leg in place. I couldn't ask for a better sister, hero, or best friend.

    When was the last time someone unexpectedly did something nice for you? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It's happened to me a few times, but two instances really stand out.

    A few years ago, I was dining in a restaurant with a friend who kept talking about himself completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn't my friend's talks that made me suffer. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.

    When we picked up the check, the waitress said “ Your meal was already paid for .” My friend and I didn't have a clue how it happened. Then I remembered a man I saw out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a beer, and stayed for maybe ten minutes . The waitress said ,”Yes , the gentleman in white paid for you .” It felt like an angel was saying “I see you , honey. It's going to be okay.”

    Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just 1 mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it “hitting the wall”. I thought I couldn't move another inch. Out of nowhere, a stranger came up to me and said, “What's your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let's go! Come on! It's just around the corner! You can do it!” And he ran with me until I picked up my pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn't even supposed to be in the race that day.

    I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need. Do you have any experiences like these?

    Soft winds blew throughout the Windy City today. We welcomed the winds, as it was another hot day in Chicago. The wind blew, bringing us some coolness—and making the weather not that hot. But it was a beautiful summer day with a blue sky.

Chicago is a great city for eating, and we have enjoyed tasting the different foods. Last night, we tried one of the city's most famous foods: deep-dish pizza. Chicago claims credit for the rich and cheesy thick-crust pizza, covered with a sweet tomato sauce. We topped it with olives and green peppers.

       We were touring the city, mainly looking for delicious local foods. Today, we enjoyed a Polish specialty at lunch: Pierogis, an Eastern European dumpling-like dish, filled with foods like potatoes, cheese, mushrooms, cabbage and meat. Polish immigrants started settling in Chicago in the 1850s, and the city has one of the largest Polish communities in the U.S.

    We took a break from exploring the city to talk with some of you! Ashley and Caty logged onto the Internet for an on-the -road version of TALK2US. We spoke to an English teacher in Tokyo, Japan, and a graduate student in India.

Meanwhile, Adam searched for some locations around the city to shoot some video. He chose a spectacular spot: Navy Pier, Chicago's most-visited attraction. The winds from Lake Michigan keep visitors cool, and the view of the Chicago skyline never fails to impress. In fact, the view made all of us head over heels!

    Our time in Chicago has come to an end. Tomorrow, the true journey begins, as we pass through Illinois and into Missouri via Route 66. Springfield, the home of Abe Lincoln, and St. Louis, the “gateway to the West,” wait for us.

    Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago. My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride the bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie.

    Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I'll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine. I'll take someone out.

    The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie's daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She's like a different child when there's no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn't have to make an effort to gain attention.

    Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering (口吃的) son, Tom, doesn't stutter once during our activities since he doesn't have to struggle for a chance to speak. And another son, Sam, who's always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.

    The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child-talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves to be an only child at least once in a while.

    The English language has a lot of words which can be used in many different ways and in many different expressions.

    One such example is the word matter. In fact, matter can mean just about anything. It could be one of the most useful words in the English language.

    Let's get to the heart of the matter —a matter of principle(原则).

    If someone says that you owe(欠) him $50, but you don't, a friend might say, “Well, you could pay him the $50. It's not that much money. Then you won't have to hear him say it anymore. But if you do not owe him the money, do not pay him the money. It's a matter of principle.

    There is another way to use the word matter. But be careful with your choice of words.

    If you ask someone, “What's the matter?”, it shows you are worried about the other person. But saying, “What's the matter with you?” has a completely different meaning. And it usually sounds rude (粗鲁的). In fact, when you say, “What's the matter with you?” you are suggesting that the person did something wrong or stupid.

    Another expression that could sound rude is to say, “It doesn't matter to me.” Here, it depends on the context, and how you say it.

    Let's say you tell someone that a friend just got a big raise at work. That person answers with, “It doesn't matter to me.” Here, it means he or she does not care. And it sounds rude.

    But saying, “Oh, you pick where we eat dinner. It doesn't matter to me.” does not sound rude. In this situation, “it doesn't matter” shows you are easy-going(随和的).

    No matter how you look at it and what you say, matter is a very useful word. And it's only a matter of time before you will become an expert on the use of matter.