Dad and Madison were walking through the party store, gathering decorations for Madison’s upcoming birthday party.

“But I don’t want to invite Lucy Gilbert! I don’t like her!”

“Madison, you are being unreasonable. If every girl in your class is invited to a party but you, you’ll feel left out. It would be a big mistake not toinvite Lucy to the party. ”“She never even talks to me! ”

Dad sighed and moved down the aisle ( 走廊). “Lucy is a new girl in class. She just moved here a little over a month ago. Think about how that must feel. She doesn’t know one single person in the school. She left all of her old friends behind and now she has to try to make new friends. Your party will be a great chance for her to get to know everyone. ”

“No, it won’t. She will probably sit in the corner and not talk to anyone. Every day at lunch she sits all by herself. She wants to eat alone!" Madison shrugged and rolled her eyes (翻白眼).

“Madison, I’m done discussing this. You will invite every girl in your class, including Lucy Gilbert!"

On Saturday morning, the family blew up balloons and decorated the house cheerfully. Madison was dressed beautifully for the day, wearing her new blue dress. It was not typical of her to dress herself like this. She usually wore sports clothes because she loved to be outside riding her horse Star with a lead rope (缰绳).

Madison greeted her friends at the doorstep, picturing (想象)various presents her friends would bring her. In the meanwhile, she was wondering whether Lucy would ruin the party if she came. Anyhow, all the girls she invited came finally, including Lucy. The girls had a fantastic time by singing and dancing while Lucy sat in the corner silently alone. Later, all the girls gathered around the table as Madison opened her presents. Opening them one by one, Madison thanked her friends, with a bright smile on her face.

Lucy’s present was the very last to be opened.

Deeply moved by what she said, Madison held the lead rope tightly in her hands.

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . When Schauna Austin was 20 years old, she lost her husband in a car crash. Unable to raise a baby alone, she made a difficult decision during pregnancy — to place her baby for adoption. She gave birth to a child she named Riley, and held him for 72 hours straight. “It was perfect,” Austin said, holding her new baby. “I knew I would have him for a short time, so I made every minute count. I didn’t sleep for three days until the time came to let him go.”

Her Riley became another family’s Steven. Like most closed adoptions, a firewall went up between Austin and Steven’s new parents — no communication whatsoever. But that only lasted about a week. Adoptive mother Jennifer Schoebinger and her husband, Chris Schoebinger, said they had no interest in excluding the birth mother. “You know, you can’t have too many people loving you, right? Why couldn’t he be both of ours?” Chris Schoebinger said.

So, year after year, they sent Austin piles of pictures and bound books detailing Steven’s every major and minor milestones. The Schoebingers said they did this so that when Austin and their son were ready, they could pick up right where they left off. The two reunited when Steven was 7 years old. Austin taught him how to fish, and they have kept in contact ever since. Austin felt blessed beyond words, and Steven felt he got the best of both worlds.

Steven is now 26, married, and with a baby boy of his own. Much to the delight of Austin, he named the child Riley. “I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes we create barriers where barriers don’t need to be. And when we pull down those barriers, we really find love on the other side,” Chris Schorbinger said.

That love on the other side has continued to grow. The families spend Thanksgiving as one, and will of course be getting together again in the days ahead.

8 . I was 6 years old when my father told me we were leaving the Big Apple Circus (马戏团). Until that point, I had spent most of my life on the circus lot, playing with the other circus kids. The circus, by its nature, is one that has a loose structure. So the early years after my leaving the circus to sit in a classroom all day felt more like a prison.

But years later, I found areas that interested me. I took the skills I had learned from being onstage and applied them to broadcasting. And so when Boston’s news station WBUR offered me a job out of college, I jumped at the chance. Along the way, I found I really enjoyed the work. I became WBUR’s news reporter. The flexibility and adaptability I’d learned in the circus as a child helped me do my job naturally and easily in a stressful situation — whether it was a destructive tornado outside Boston, or the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013.

But then a serious infectious disease appeared. Suddenly, for the first time in my adult life, I went for a year without doing any shows. But it became clear to me that performing was what I truly wanted. For me, the circus symbolizes who I am. And stages have always been where I’ve felt the most free. Some people get nervous before they go onstage, but by assuming (扮演) the character of Jacques ze Whipper and drawing a stupid moustache on my face, all my social anxiety disappears.

Circus performances go beyond age, socioeconomic status (地位), and even language. It’s the type of performance where you can go anywhere in the world to entertain anyone — help anyone forget their troubles for 5, 10, and even 30 minutes. And most importantly, for me, it means coming home.

A Four-legged Guardian Angel

Snow had just melted off the ground that April day at our house in Regina Beach. I had just cleaned up the pool in preparation for selling the house. The year before, I had lost my job, and now our financial situation was depressing. Finally, I had put the home on the market. Even worse, I would have to give up my beloved Great Dane (大丹犬), Brigitte, because I could no longer afford the cost of feeding it. The thought of losing the dog and our beautiful home was almost more than I could bear.

Deep in discouragement, I sat typing up my application letters. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my thirteen-month-old son, Forrest, as he lay on the carpet, playing near our big, gentle Brigitte. It seemed as if Brigitte was always meant to be in this family and she turned out to be a perfect companion.

Brigitte came to our house on Christmas eve when the doorbell rang and I was sure some of my Christmas packages had arrived.   I ran to the door but no one was there. I sensed something and looked down, only to find a beautiful Great Dane sitting there, looking up at me with big, intelligent eyes. Perhaps, someone had found the puppy somewhere and left her there, and then rang the doorbell and ran away. They accurately guessed I would welcome an additional family member and take care of her.

Thinking of these, I couldn’t help sighing and went straight back to work. However, I hadn’t typed more than two sentences when Brigitte began barking and running back and forth to the sliding glass door overlooking our pool.

I raced to see what was happening and noticed that the sliding door was slightly open. Suddenly, I realized Forrest was nowhere to be seen.   In panic, I opened the door and ran outside.

There I was surprised to see Brigitte, who was terrified of water, dive into the pool.

Finally, the doctor said Forrest was all right and could be released from hospital.