【推荐2】Two years ago, something happened that changed the way I look at the world. On my birthday, my grandfather, walking home with his hands full of groceries, fell and hit his head on the sidewalk. Just as we were leaving to meet him for dinner, we got the call that he was in the hospital. At first, I thought nothing of it, but when I heard the whole story, I couldn’t believe it. He hit his head so hard that he had a blood clot in his brain and it had to be operated on immediately, Everyone thought he would die.

Although my grandfather survived emergency brain surgery, he had complications (后遗症). He could hardly talk and he couldn’t walk. Shortly after, he was admitted to a nursing home. Today, he lives at home with my grandmother and is doing much better, but this isn’t about him. It’s about what I saw at that nursing home.

I saw something that many people haven’t seen, and some do often choose to ignore it, I saw more sadness in those days visiting the nursing home than I thought. In that one place were hundreds of old people who were alone and forgotten.

So what as to be done with the situation of the old? This is not an easy question, but something must be done. Perhaps groups in the community could assign each member to one nursing home patient with whom they could keep in regular contact. Maybe a school could focus on a nursing home and send cards, pictures and letters to residents. If periodic visits were arranged, I’m sure that for some, if not many, those students would be the only visitors they had all month. These are just a few ideas; we all need to work together.

I hope everyone to tour a local nursing home I further expect you to do something about it. You’ll brighten someone’s day, or maybe even his or her life.

【推荐3】The sun was rising as we drove across the Minnesota state line to New York for my new PhD program. The move was good for me professionally, but I worried about my husband and daughters. I also feared that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids the childhood they deserved (应得的).

Anne, our first daughter, came into the world when I was a junior majoring in biology in college. It was challenging to balance classes, work schedules, and being a mom. But I got through it, finding moments of joy along the way. On the nights when I was home, I’d read my class notes out loud with my daughter. She’d respond by asking questions, such as “Mom, what are bacteria (细菌)?” It helped us both learn.

After I graduated, I knew that I would need a PhD to land the kind of job I wanted. I arrived in New York feeling more than the usual new-graduate-student anxiety. I also suffered from a more personal fear that I was being selfish — that my decision to prioritize my career was going to have long-term bad impacts on my kids. So, I made a rule lo never be visibly upset about my work in front of my children.

Over the past year, though, I’ve started to let go of some of this worry. I’ve realized that we have not only adapted to our new situation, but things are getting better. My husband landed a job that he is happy with. Anne dreams of becoming a biologist. Recently, while driving past the cancer institute I work at, Anne said, “Thinking about people having cancer is so sad, but I feel better knowing that you are researching it to help.”

Pursuing academic career as a young mother is hard, but it’s also rewarding. My kids are learning to look at the world through science, and watching their mom succeed inspires them. I look forward to seeing them follow ray footsteps, whatever path they choose.

【推荐1】Jarrett Little was road testing his mountain bike outside of Columbus, Georgia, when his riding partner, Chris Dixon, stopped suddenly. Something in the distance moving among the trees had caught her attention. It turned out to be a sandy-colored five-month-old dog.

“He was really thin, ribs showing and a broken leg,” Little told CBS News. The cyclists fed the friendly pup and shared their water. “We couldn’t leave him,” Little said. “Out there next to the Oxbow Meadows, he was going to end up as alligator (短吻鳄) food.”

Little, a 31-year-old businessman, had an idea. He carefully picked up his new friend and slipped the 38-pound dog’s hind legs into the back pockets of his cycling shirt. Then he draped (使……搭在……上) the dog’s front paws over his shoulders.

The 30-minute ride into town ended at a bike store, where they got more water and food for the dog. That was when Andrea Shaw, a lawyer from Maine in town on business, happened by. The dog made a beeline for her, licking and loving her. Shaw was smitten and, after learning what had happened, declared her intention: “I am keeping this dog.”

Shaw called him Columbo after the town where they’d met and scheduled an operation on his leg. Today, Columbo is living the high life on a farm with a horse, a goat, a six-year-old boy, and two dogs to keep him company. As Dixon said, “He is literally the luckiest dog alive.”

【推荐2】If someone said they’d pay you $ 1,800 to stay off social media for six years, would you do it? Could you?

Sivert Klefsaas did just that. “I thought it was awesome,” Sivert told CNN Tuesday, “I thought, ‘Ah what’s 6 more years?’”

In 2016, Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas challenged her 12-year-old son Sivert to stay off social media until he was 18. If he completed the challenge, she’d award him the cash on his eighteenth birthday. On February 19, 2022, Sivert claimed his prize.

Lorna was inspired by a challenge she heard on the radio called the “16 for 16”, where a mother gave her daughter $1,600 when she turned 16 if she stayed off social media, she told CNN. She decided to up the ante (期限) to two extra years and $200 more.

Sivert said it wasn’t too difficult to live without social media, and he didn’t think about it much during the six years. As a 12 year old, Sivert said he wasn’t using social media much anyway. The only app he had prior to the bet was Snapchat—which he deleted a day after trying it out. “I wouldn’t say there was ever a time when I thought I was about to break,” he said. “As it went on, it was more of a pride thing.” He also had his friends to keep him up to date on the latest information or trends.” I got to avoid all the unnecessary drama that was on there.” Sivert added.

Lorna said she never had to check for any sneakily downloaded apps. “He’s so competitive, it was definitely more for proving a point.” she said. It also meant he had more time to focus on his grades and sports instead, Sivert told reporter.

Now $1,800 richer, Sivert told CNN he hasn’t thought about what to buy (when he was 12, he joked he’d get a house), but it’ll likely be something for his dorm room at the University of Northwestern St. Paul, which he’ll attend in the fall.

After Sivet’s success, Lorna took to Facebook to share the challenge. She said it was some of the best money she ever spent. Other parents have seemed interested in trying it out too, she told CNN.

“We are certainly not against social media, but it’s the healthy using of it.” Lorna noted. “It’s about not letting yourself get weighed down by it, or addicted to it, or affected by things that people post.” She added she thinks her son now has a “different perspective” on social media than he would have at age 12.

【推荐3】My daughter Kelly is a cautious person. She needs to warm up to situations’ and is hesitant to try new things. When with close friends, she becomes a leader who laughs loudly and chants, “Girls rule, boys drool.” But when that comfort zone is not around her, she is shy and nervous.

This has been challenging for me at times. “Shy”’ is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me. But this has been a year of firsts for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of confidence. This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team. This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And this year she completed her first kids’ triathlon (三项全能).

On Saturday, with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son’s birthday party later in the day, we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to participate in her first triathlon. We practiced transitions from swim to bike to run with her, we got all the equipment she’d need, and we kept talking about the race. But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn, she held my leg a little harder and told me she loved me a few too many times. She was nervous but trying to keep it together.

And then it was her turn. From the second she jumped into the water, my heart soared. My daughter transformed into the most confident human being I had ever seen. She dominated that swim, crushed that bike ride and ran to the finish with the biggest smile on her face.

I can honestly say that I never felt so proud of someone in my entire life. It wasn’t because she did a sport or anything like that. It was because she was afraid of something and conquered that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn’t seen before.

All day I would find myself just looking over at her and smiling. She might be wearing the finalist medal but I felt like I won that day. I won the chance to see my girl shine.

Shine on, sweet baby.