Early in the morning, I saw my six year-old son fighting with my azalea (杜鹃花) bush. By the time I got outside, he'd broken it. "Can I take this to school today?" he asked. With a wave of my hand, 1 sent him off. I turned my back so he wouldn't see the tears gathering in my eyes. I loved that azalea bush.
I spent most of the day washing and drying clothes. As I finished hanging up the last of my husband's shirts, I hurriedly drove to the school to pick up Jonathan.
By the time I arrived, the teacher took me aside. "I want to talk to you about Jonathan" she said. I prepared myself for the worst. Nothing would have surprised me. "Did you know Jonathan brought flowers to school today?" she asked. I nodded, thinking about my favorite bush and trying to hide the hurt in my eyes.
"Let me tell you about yesterday" the teacher insisted,"See that little girl?" I watched the bright-eyed child laugh and point to a colorful picture on the wall. I nodded.
"Well, yesterday she was almost crazy. Her mother and father are going through a divorce. I watched that little girl bury her face in her hands and say loud enough for the class to hear, ‘Nobody loves me.'I did all I could to comfort her, but it only seemed to make matters worse.
"Today your son walked straight over to that child. I watched him hand her some pretty pink flowers and whisper, ‘I love you.'"
I felt my heart swell with pride for what my son had done. I smiled at the teacher.
"Thank you," I said, reaching for Jonathan's hand," you've made my day"