I heard the door open and knew it wouldn’t be long before my husband Paul would come through the door. I feared his arrival. Don’t get me wrong —I love him dearly, but recently he had started to ask too many questions. He was really getting on my nerves.

“Hi baby, I’m home,” came his voice. “Where are you?”

“In here,” I replied. I was lying on our bed watching the five o’clock news in my pajamas（睡衣）.

“You’re still in your pajamas, again? You would feel better if you got dressed.”

“Why? I’m not going any place,” I replied testily. He just sighed and started changing his clothes.

We weren’t fighting but we weren’t exactly getting along famously either. My early retirement had come unexpectedly and although it was due to health issues, they weren’t severe enough to “allow” me stay in pajamas all day.

Everyone kept telling me it took time to adjust, that I would be very busy if I gave myself a chance. I didn’t want to be just busy; I wanted a purpose. Meanwhile, as I searched for meaning in my life again, my husband stepped in and suggested we get a dog.

The next Wednesday morning he said, “Hey, get dressed. Today we’re going to the dog-shelter.” “Oh, no…I can’t.”

“Why not? You going, somewhere?” he asked.

“Well, um; I’m not ready for that commitment,” I replied.

“Sallie, we’re getting a dog, not adopting a baby!”

We went to the shelter and returned with a Beagle-Doxie mix. I named her Mollie, spelled with an “ie” just like my name.

I bounded out of bed the next morning, eager to take care of Mollie. I was greeted by doggie kisses and unconditional love. Mollie didn’t care that I didn’t have a career or that I have health issues. She just needed me. I fed her, bathed her, and started our daily routine of walks. Mollie and I were two needy souls who had found each other.

A funny thing happened: my energy returned.

One recent winter evening, Mollie and I took our usual walk.

A Precious Dress

I was raised in a family where my parents were united in their way of bringing up children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out, and she managed the family budget effortlessly. Looking back, I honestly think I would be a different person if my mum hadn’t turned a dress into a life lesson I carry with me today.

If we complained about not having what another kid did, we’d hear something like I don’t care what so-and-so got for his birthday, you are not getting a car for your birthday or a lavish sweet-16 party. We had to earn our allowance (零用钱) by doing chores around the house. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. I can still remember how long it took to polish the legs of our dining table. Sometimes, I couldn’t even contain my envy of Chloe, a neighbourhood girl, always beautifully dressed, whose parents satisfied her with almost every need.

One day, my mother drove me downtown to buy some household necessities-and there it was in the shopping window. Pink, lovely, delicately trimmed (镶嵌着) with lace, the dress winked (眨眼) at me and I knew I had to have it. “It’s beautiful, ” my mother said when I pointed it out to her. “What a beautiful dress! ”

I tried to hide my desire at first. But then I guess I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Mum, please get it? I’ll do anything, but I need that dress. I love it. Please?”

I was desperate.

“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back, “if you save up, you could buy this yourself.”

“By the time I make enough, it’ll be sold!”

“There might be a way,” she said.

And so our paying plan unfolded. Mum bought the dress and put it safely in some hiding place where I couldn’t find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing savings increased by extra work. Weeks later, I counted and jumped for joy. Oh, I made it! I finally had the exact amount we’d agreed on Having put on my dress, I flew to school like a bird. However, the unthinkable happened.

The moment I arrived at the school gate, Chloe appeared in exactly the same dress.

Hearing me crying loudly, Mum gently pushed open the door.

I was a broke university student. I should have been going to university on a scholarship because I came from a low-income family, but a last-minute £100-a-year pay rise for my mum pushed my family over the threshold (门槛) for what defined “low-income” and I was suddenly no longer qualified for £15,000 a year in scholarship money. This news came after I’d been accepted by the university and signed the lease (租约) for my accommodation.

Despite my family not being labelled low-income anymore, I still wouldn’t receive any financial support from my family as all the income went toward taking care of my disabled brother and paying their own bills. It would be tight, but because I had savings from my part-time job, I decided to go to university anyway. After paying my rent, I had £10.20 a week for everything else including food, toiletries, and school supplies.

As I was in a new city, I really wanted to make friends, which was difficult when most of the social activities were expensive. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to do a relatively cheap coffee shop trip with my roommates who were pleasant to me.

I had £20 with me to get a cheap cup of coffee and my food shopping for a few weeks. So I headed for the coffee shop. While paying, I pulled out the note and a handful of change and realized I could pay without breaking the note, so I put it back in my pocket. It wasn’t until I arrived at the supermarket that I realized the note was gone. What should I do? I was desperate it was the equivalent (相等物) of two weeks of money. My roommates helped me look for the note. However, it was in vain. Finally, I went to school empty-handed.

P1: As a final attempt, I messaged the coffee shop’s Facebook page asking if they’d seen it.

P2: I said, “Oh, ...This isn’t mine; my note was an old worn one.”

The Feel-Good Shoebox

Catherine sat on her bed with her chin in her hands. “Why aren't you getting ready for Grandma's birthday party?”asked Mother.

“I can't bake like Sylvia or knit like Anne,” Catherine grumbled. “They made good presents. All I made for her is an ugly card.” “It's a lovely card. And no one can be good at everything,” said Mother. She sat on the bed next to Catherine. “When I was your age, I felt sad when I couldn't do certain things. But one day Grandma showed me the shoebox game, and it made me feel a lot better.” Catherine frowned （皱眉）. “How can a shoebox make me feel better？”“You＇ll see，” said Mother. She disappeared down the hall, then came back carrying a shoe box, a pencil, paper, and scissors.

Catherine watched as Mother cut several pieces of paper into squares. “Nôw, I want you to write down all the things you can do,” said Mother. “Like what?” asked Catherine. “Why not start with things you've learned in school? Give it some thought while I ice Grandma's birthday cake.”

Catherine sat for a while wrinkling （起皱纹） and unwrinkling her eyebrows.Slowly Catherine began to write and write. Before long she had written on every square of paper. She was so busy that she didn't hear Mother come into the room.“My goodness!"said Mother.“Do you think they'll all fit in the shoebox?”“I hope so,” said Catherine. “It was fun thinking of all the stuff I can do.”“And the next time you feel sad because you can't do something, your feel-good shoebox will remind you of how much you can do-just as mine did when I was a little girl,” said Mother,“Now let's finish getting dressed for Grandma's party.”

Our wedding anniversary(纪念日)had arrived and like every other day of the year, I was very busy. My husband, Roy. sent me a beautifully wrapped present before the day and he even made a reservation at an expensive restaurant. After a hard day at work, I hurried home, ran into the house and jumped into the shower. When my sweetheart returned, I was already dressed in my finest clothes.

Just at the very moment the babysitter(保姆)arrived and we were ready to go. We were on the point of walking out of the house when the smallest member in our family came over to us with an unhappy look.

“Daddy, didn’t you mean to take me to buy Mamma a present?” Becky, my eight-year-old daughter said.

Roy looked at his watch and realized that if we were to make our reservation, we had to leave right away.

“Sorry, I was late getting home, honey,” he said.

“That’s OK,” Becky replied. “I understand.”

The entire evening was bittersweet. I couldn’t help being concerned about the disappointment in Becky’s eyes. I remembered how the joyful look had left her face, just before the door closed behind us. She wanted me to know how much she loved me. She didn’t realize it, but I already knew it very well.

Today, I can’t remember what was wrapped in that beautiful box, but I’ll never forget the special gift which I received when we arrived back home. Becky was asleep on the bed, holding a box. When I kissed her face, she awoke. “I’ve got something for you, Mamma,” she said, as a giant smile covered her tiny face. The little box was wrapped in newspaper. As I tore the paper off and opened the box, I found the sweetest gift that I have ever received.

After Roy and I left for our date, Becky got busy.

My wonderful gift is still kept in a special place in my bedroom today, some thirteen years later.

After I stepped into the school library, I went straight to the shelves filled with books at once. It was break time and I had dropped by the library to borrow a book. Just as I was looking through some books, a girl in my class, Alice, came up to me. Alice was a pain in the neck as she would often make fun of others. That day, Alice laughed at me about my deepest secret -that I had come last in class in the mid-year examinations.

I blushed(脸红)hotly in shame. At the same time, I became extremely angry. My best friend, Lynn, was the only one who knew my secret. How could she betray(背叛)me?

My anger grew as thoughts about my friendship with Lynn flashed through my mind. We had been good friends since Primary 1. We hung out together, studied together and stayed up till the early hours of the morning to exchange our dreams. We were closer than sisters. When she needed a shoulder to cry on, I would be there. How could she do this to me? I was so mad that I could not control myself.

Brushing aside Alice’s taunts(嘲弄), I stormed to the place where Lynn usually went - the school field. Lynn looked at me with a welcoming smile on her face. The sight of her treacherous(背信弃义的)face made me mad and crazy.

“How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!” I shouted at Lynn. “I hate you!”

A look of bewilderment(迷茫)crossed her face as she said,

“Wha ... What’s wrong? What did I do?”

Lynn cried out but I was cold and I didn’t show any kindness to her at all. I told her, “You are no longer my friend!”

And then I stormed away and returned to the library to calm myself down.

Paragraph 1: About 5 minutes later, one of my classmates came up to me and handed me my diary.

Paragraph 2: Luckily, Lynn was still in the field.