【推荐1】When I set out to drop my dad at the airport, it was dark and dull. It started to rain on the way. When I left the airport, the visibility wasn’t clear because of the drops of rain. It was before 6 am.

Even though the road conditions were poor, I drove at my normal speed. I was angry with the more cautious drivers ahead of me that were delaying my drive. The exit ramp (坡道) to the highway was a tight spiral (急盘旋). It is a dangerous spot in good weather and totally scary when the weather is miserable or it is dark. But I didn’t want to slow down and arrive home any later than necessary. I drove down the ramp too fast. The road was wet and my car slid, landing face down on the ramp.

I didn’t like to drive by myself at the time and had insisted on taking my husband and son with me on the trip. Thankfully, I was alone in the car. My accident was slight. In fact, I was lucky enough not to have a single scratch. I started to shake when thinking the injuries my son would have suffered had he been in the backseat of that car with no seatbelt when it rolled. After the car rolled three times, I found my mobile phone was lost in a pile of small things that were all lying in the bottom of the car. A lady was kind enough to let me borrow her mobile phone, but without the numbers pre-programmed (预编的), who could I call? I was lucky enough to remember my father’s mobile phone number, and fortunate that he hadn’t yet got on his plane.

You never know when an accident will happen. As a driver, I will keep safety in mind by obeying all traffic laws and have safe-driving habits, especially in bad weather. Insist your children always wear their seatbelts. Life is a journey and everyone should value it and enjoy the ride.

【推荐2】When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, "Do you have the address? ""No, but I'll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine. "

"Oh, stop. There it is!"

The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.

"May I help you?" a man asked. "No," I said. "We're fine." Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren't that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy(爱窥探的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. "Where do you think you are?" he asked. I turned sharply. "The McNay Art Museum!" He smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street." "What's this place?" I asked, still confused. "Well, it's our home." My heart jolted(震颤). I raced to the staircase and called out, "Sally! Come down immediately! "

"There's some really good stuff(艺术作品）up there." She stepped down, looking confused. I pushed her toward the front door, waving at the family, saying, "Sorry, please forgive us, you have a really nice place." Outside, when I told Sally what happened, she covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn't believe how long they let us look around without saying anything.

The real McNay was splendid, but we felt nervous the whole time we were there. Van Gogh, Picasso. This time, we stayed together, in case anything else unusual happened.

Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place. "Excuse me, did you ever enter a residence, long ago, thinking it was the McNay Museum?"

"That was my home. I was a teenager sitting in the hall. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before. You thought it was a museum. My feelings about my home changed after that. I've always wanted to thank you."

【推荐3】The men of influence in our lives are our fathers, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, and friends and they play an important role in our lives. They lead by example, teaching us how to move physically through our world, how to be strong in the face of adversity, how to be wise, and how to provide for ourselves and our families.

My dad taught me how to have natural fun, playing baseball in the middle of the street, in his stocking feet. Today my dad continues to influence me in positive ways. He has faced a challenging health problem over the past few months and has carried on with his life in much the same way as he did before his illness, going about his daily business a bit slower and needing to take more rests but still living his life the way he wishes to.

My grandfather taught me the value of being trusted. My father-in-law influenced my life in a different way. He was quiet, loving and a man of power. When he spoke, I listened, as he did not speak unless he had something to say.

My loving husband has encouraged me to be strong and independent, to think for myself, and not to look to him for permission. My husband has also taught me to adapt with him to the ever-changing reality of his journey with illness, and he has met each one with courage and dignity. I have learned much from the men who have had an influence on my life. For all that I have learned and for the role they played and continue to play in my life I am forever thankful.

【推荐1】The other day I was shopping at a local store and came upon a lady from India squatting（蹲）on the floor looking for a certain product on the bottom shelf. She sprang up when she saw me as if to get out of my way. Apologetically she explained that she was a cashier at a nearby store and was on her lunch break trying to geta few needed items before her time was up.

I reassured her, “I am in no hurry. Go ahead and do what you need to do.” While she searched for a particular brand, she said that sometimes customers were rude to her at the store and she really appreciated my kindness. I told her that I had noticed cashiers being treated rudely by some people.

I also explained to her that I was a retired nurse and understood some of what she was saying first hand. Sometimes patients, families, or doctors could be very rude or mean. But I tried to understand why they were feeling that way and let it go. “The world would be a better place if we all acted kindly toward each other. Those who are rude may have bad karma coming after them eventually.” I added.

She nodded and was surprised, “So you know about karma?” My reply was simple. “A little bit. Karma is the same thing as doing something bad and it comes back to bite you on the butt.” She paused, looked puzzled, then broke out in a big smile and covered her mouth with her hand, laughing as she walked away.

It felt so good that in a brief exchange I showed her there were kind people in the world, which might have helped her regain her faith in humanity.

【推荐1】One day, a small opening appeared on a cocoon(蚕茧); a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then, it seemed to make no progress. It appeared as if it had never come out.

So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon. The butterfly then came out and emerged easily. But it had a withered and weak body, it just had tiny and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, to be able to support the butterfly’s body, and become firm and flew high in the sky.However，Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.   

What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill did not understand was that the restricting cocoon hole and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s will of forcing fluid (液体)from the body of the butterfly into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight   

Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles, it would destroy and ruin us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We never been able to fly. That is why when I asked for strength. God gave me difficulties to make me strong. when I asked for courage , God gave me obstacles to overcome.

【推荐3】“Has anyone seen Charge?” I asked, only half expecting a reply. The kids were running around the house, each doing their own thing, and my husband was watching the football game. Since she had only been out of sight for a few hours, I wasn’t overly concerned. I thought she must be under one of the kids’ beds, hiding from all the mess that was normal for a Sunday afternoon in our home.

Charge was not good-looking, to put it kindly. It wasn’t her fault; she was simply gifted with the worst appearance traits (特征) in her background.

My husband had found Charge wandering along the freeway one day on his way home from work. She looked as though she hadn’t eaten in weeks, so he stopped and fed her with bits of his leftover lunch. Not knowing what to do, he brought her home with the hope of finding her owners or at least a loving family that would take her. However, once she was in the house, the kids were determined not to let her go. After a day or two of begging, we unwillingly gave in and told them we could keep her.

After observing her actions for a few days, I found she was extremely distrustful and afraid of everyone. In time, though, she came to love the kids and slept on their beds every night. I wondered if what she had experienced had conditioned her to be protective of those who were hurting. Every time the kids cried, Charge would run to them and gently offer her comforting paw. Unlike our cat, who had recently given birth to five kittens, Charge would have been a great mother.

When I was finally able to get everyone’s attention at the dinner table, I asked again if anyone had seen Charge. After an all-in-love voice “No”, I decided to take a look around the neighborhood.

“Who wants to go look for Charge with me?” I asked as I opened the door of the hall closet and reached in to get my shoes.

“Charge!” I cried, because there she was in the closet! She looked up at me from inside the little cats’ box as if to say, “Shhh, I just got them to sleep!”

We usually kept the closet door open a bit so our mamma cat could go in and feed her kittens, but she always left as soon as she finished nursing. Obviously, Charge knew they needed more mamma time and was more than willing to help out.

The kids smiled upon seeing the dog with the kittens. My husband shook his head and said, “Only you, Charge. Only you!”

Charge continued to mother the kittens until they were placed in their new homes. Charge may not have been an attractive dog, but she truly had her inner beauty.