|
turn off, be related to, warm up, in case, at least, sign up |
Mom was a teacher most of her life. When she wasn't in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren, correcting our grammar, starting us off on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks, or inspiring a discussion on her most recent "Book of the Month Club" topic. Mom made learning fun.
It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her suffering in her later years. At eightyfive, she suffered a stroke (中风) and she went steadily downhill after that.
Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair. While we waited for the staff to lift her limp body back into bed, Mom fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly.
After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound coming from across the room. We stopped talking and looked at Mom. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us. We went to her side.
"Whrr," she said weakly.
"Where?" I asked. "Mom, is there something you want?" "Whrr," she repeated a bit stronger. My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly.
Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could gather said, "Not...was. Say were!"
We suddenly realized that Mom was correcting Brother Jim's last sentence, "if it was up to me..."
Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered. We smiled at each other and once again shook our heads.
You can't imagine how terrible I felt at that time. A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first PE class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later informed me that I was "not athletic".
The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realised running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!
The night before my marathon, I dreamed that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces (鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!
At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"
By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.
By mile 21, I was starving!
As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 am or questioned my expenses on running.
I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.
Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels (世俗标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".
I live in New York City, and my neighbours are people I don't know. My city, neighbourhood and block are filled with people who don't know me, don't care to know me, and don't talk to me. I find that it's pretty hard to love people you don't even know. And sometimes, we all, myself included, use that as an excuse not to try. I read Brendan's story recently and was moved.
One day, Brendan, a young man in New York, was on the way back to his Brooklyn apartment when a homeless woman called Jackie asked him for money. He said that he had no money. By the end of the week, she asked two more times, and each time he answered "No". The woman looked sad, so Brendan said, "I am on my way to a job interview. If I get the job, I will take you out for Chinese food."
Brendan got the job. He took Jackie out for lunch. That was when their friendship began. They built a strong friendship by supporting each other and spending their birthdays, holidays and difficult times together, over a period of eight years. When Brendan's heater broke, Jackie made a blanket for him. Two days later when he told her that he had lost his job, she left and returned minutes later, bringing him food to eat. She continued to do that during the whole winter. Even with so little, she often gave back.
Over these years, Jackie moved from the streets and subway stations into a halfway house, and is now moving into an apartment. To celebrate it, Brendan wanted to do something special for Jackie. He went with her to Target, and helped her to pick out everything she would need for her new apartment.
May Brendan's story encourage us to find a new way to honour, serve and love the people around us.
Many of us deal with the rush every morning in preparation for work or school, but it doesn't have to be this way. With a little time management, these steps can help you cut down on your morning stress.
Create an evening preparation routine.
These simple tasks will take you less than 30 minutes to complete each evening and will save you a huge headache every morning.
Get a good night's sleep.
Make sure you start winding down for bed at a reasonable hour to allow enough time for a healthy night's sleep. If needed, set a bedtime reminder alarm on your alarm clock. Always keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortably cool.
Wake up 30 minutes earlier.
An extra 30 minutes in the morning will make a difference. As long as you get to bed on time, waking up 30 minutes earlier should seem natural after just a few days.
Plan a realistic day.
Writing things down means you don't have to worry about forgetting to do them. Write down anything that cannot be put off to the following day.
Getting up to face a new day is far more satisfying when you have something to look forward to. Make sure you manage your time better so that you have time to do something you love on a daily basis.
A. Morning stress is very common.
B. Schedule something you love daily.
C. Never fill your mind with unnecessary worries.
D. Make a summary of what you did in the daytime.
E. Use this time to think, shower and eat breakfast.
F. Iron your clothes, locate your keys, plan a nutritious breakfast, etc.
G. Most people require between seven and eight hours' sleep each night.
It's almost a common belief that the best food you can find in a place is not in the fancy restaurants, in the backstreets. These spots are usually away from popular tourist attractions, which means that to find them you'll need the spirit of an explorer.
That's I came across roujiamo when I was exploring Beijing. I found restaurant that sold dishes from Xi'an when I explored the area around (I) office one day. I decided to try it out.
My roujiamo (make) fresh, so the bread was still warm. It was soft when I bit into it, and the meat inside was delicious and tender. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I ordered more to take home with me. Though it's just a snack, it's still quite filling and can (easy) satisfy your appetite.
There are a (various) of things you can put inside the "mo", as the bread is called. For example, in certain areas in Xi'an, the meat (use) is usually beef, but in Gansu Province, lamb is more common. And the first roujiamo that I tried was made pork. However it's made, it's still a tasty snack. And for an American like me who grew up (eat) hamburgers, it's a perfect combination of East and West.
Have you heard an old saying "The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence."? It means other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live. "Let's go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!" We all know it: More and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.
Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that the Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the MidAutumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture, such as calligraphy, Beijing Opera and so on. And let's not forget the part of Chinese culture: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.
It's good to enjoy other cultures and learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It's good to look at the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn't always greener.
Although some people become worried about that, I don't think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it's fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!
