Grandma tried to straighten out her fingers.“You know, Ann, I think I am done knitting.” she said.“My fingers just won’t do what I tell them any more.”

I looked at her hands.When I was little, she had taught me how to sew dresses for my dolls and how to embroider (刺绣) the faces of my dolls on the dresses.

But now she can hardly bend her fingers.The doctor said she should keep her hands warm.I made her cups of tea to hold and moved her chair closer to the fire.But it didn’t work.

I wasn’t used to seeing her hands so still.When I came downstairs, her quiet hands made even her voice stay still.I missed her voice more than ever.

I tried to help her find her voice.“Grandma, tell me about when you were a little girl,” I begged, knowing she loved to tell stories.“Tell me about Peti and Zoe.” Peti and Zoe were her brother and sister.“That was so long ago, Ann,” whispered Grandma.“I can barely remember.” But I still remembered her story about Peti cutting off Zoe’s two beautiful long braids (辫子) and then hiding them in the closet.Were those words still moving silently in her head?

Mom was sorting through our clothes for spring.“Ann, take these out to the trash,” Mom said.“There’s no need to keep worn-out clothes.”

I looked sadly at the pile of sweaters and then picked it up.

“Wait,” Grandma said as I walked by her and put the pile downstairs.“Let me see those.”

“Ann, wind the yarn (纱线) of the old sweater into a ball, like this.Then you can use the yarn to knit something new.” Grandma wrapped yarn around and around her fingers, first in one direction and then the other to keep the ball round.

After dinner Grandma fell asleep in her chair.

Mom came downstairs with an old pair of gloves with small holes to add to the pile of sweaters.

Suddenly, the pair of old gloves gave me an idea.

“Your family,” I said, handing the gloves with the faces of Peti and Zoe to Grandma.

My dad was a cleaner in my school. When I was 12, I decided to study hard to have a life different from his.

One day when Dad asked me to play basketball with him, I just replied, “I’m busy. I want to study well so that I can become a rich man. I don’t want to be a cleaner like you, Dad!” He was shocked (震惊的), but I didn’t care and continued studying hard. Finally, I graduated from high school with honors, and decided it was time to break free from my dad and follow my dreams.

“Dad, I got a scholarship to a law school in California,” I told him. “I’ll leave in 3 days.” My dad was surprised but proud of me. As I left for the airport 3 days later, he said, “Son, wherever you go, welcome back home.” I ignored his words and flew to California.

After I graduated, I found a great job there. Later, I was made manager and earned much money. I no longer remembered my father was a cleaner. I had forgotten my dad, who was still cleaning my school. I seldom answered his calls or wrote back to him. I was busy; I still had a lot more to achieve.

With time, the more success I tasted, somehow, the lonelier I became. I felt especially lonely on my 31st birthday. I kept checking my phone, hoping someone wished me a happy birthday. But there wasn’t a single call or message. Later that evening when I returned home from my office, something in my mailbox drew my attention.

“A letter?” I whispered and saw it was from my father. He never forgot to mail me a letter on my each birthday. However, I never took the trouble to read it. “How did I ignore him?” I thought. I brought the letter home and took out his earlier letters. And I opened one. It read, “Wherever you are, I love you to the last drop of my blood. I wish you a happy life.”

I picked up another letter and read it.

Finally, I arrived at my dad’s house and saw him sitting alone in the yard.

Finding the Real Me

I had thought losing my job was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Losing my job was not the end of who I was but literally the beginning of discovering the real me.

It started out as one of the best days of my life, and certainly, of my career. My staff and I had been named the number one unit in our company, and I was taking them out for a celebratory lunch. Lunch was fun, the food was excellent, and the friendly atmosphere at the table made me smile. The weather was crisp, cool and sunny. I thought to myself “It just doesn’t get any better than this.” It was a perfect day!

Then came the teleconference at two o’clock as usual.

“Er, if you... if you are willing to move?” stuttered our associate director, voice trembling, “and if you cannot move, you will be given a severance package (遣散费), and ...”

How could this be happening? I felt numb, my world slowly coming to an end. My husband and family comforted me, but I was scared. Financially, I knew we would be okay. But I had worked full-time my whole life and it had become my identity — who I was and how I defined myself. I was a leader, and I felt, a good one. What would I be with that taken from me?

After sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I just casually turned on the television. A program caught my attention — a group of volunteers were helping children and hungry people all over the world. It struck me! I felt guilty knowing that even though I had lost my job, we had plenty of good, healthy food on the table every night. The words spoken by a volunteer seemed directed specifically at me — The best way to be blessed and to forget about your own problem is to help someone else. Ashamed, I realized that I had been abandoned to self-pity when I had so much to be thankful for and to do — a loving husband, beautiful children, and family and friends who needed me.

Paragraph 1: I decided to cook a great meal for my family that night.

Paragraph 2: The next morning, I announced to my family that I was going to start a cooking school for them.

When my sister, Dona, and I were little kids, my parents both joined the army. They stayed far away from our town and hardly returned home. My grandpa took on the big responsibility of taking care of us. Still, without our parents by our side, Dona and I sometimes felt lonely and sad, especially one winter.

One morning in that winter when Dona and I were sitting in our bedroom, dull and quiet, Grandpa said, “My dear, how about trying skating for fun?” Our faces immediately lit up and we answered together, “Great, we surely like it, Grandpa!”

He smiled and quickly set about building us a skating rink (溜冰场) in our yard. The process of building a skating rink was not easy. First, Grandpa laid out long wooden boards around the yard. Next, he made the base of the rink flat. Grandpa then began spraying the water, lightly at first, until the first layer of ice was established. He would then put some water onto the ice each night. And thus, the ice became thicker and thicker.

In the darkness of the night, from the kitchen window Dona and I watched Grandpa with great expectations. His back and shoulders rounded to protect him from the freezing wind. He stood alone, busying himself creating a perfect skating rink for us. The only light was from the moon and stars.

One night, Grandpa suddenly pressed his waist and the look on his face showed he was painful. Quite concerned, Dona and I rushed out and asked, “Grandpa! What’s wrong?” “My waist is painful. Don’t worry! I’ll be fine just after a little rest,” he smiled. Dona and I offered to help create the rink. But he said it was too cold outside at night and that building the rink needs much experience and lots of skills. Then, we gave up the idea of offering him a hand, but demanded he build the rink a few days later. Seeing we were determined, he walked into the room with us and had warm tea. Before long, Dona and I were tired and went to bed.

When we fell asleep, Grandpa quietly walked out into the yard.

Amazed, we hurriedly put on the skating equipment and rushed out._

“I look like a clown (小丑)!” Winston thought sadly. He pulled his cap down, thankful for the cover it provided. He wanted to escape the attention of the people outside the barbershop (理发店). He looked around before hurrying away into the darkness to put some distance between himself and the curious eyes of others.

As he moved quickly down the street,Winston wondered why he hadn’t spoken up to prevent the terrible haircut. He felt sad and questioned why this had happened to him. Did the barber give him this messed-up haircut on purpose? Winston didn’t believe it because the barber looked very friendly. But it seemed so crazy! Could he have unknowingly offended the barber,and this disastrous hairstyle was the barber’s way of getting back at him?

Winston was also worried that Jack would laugh at him. Jack was his cousin and liked playing jokes. But maybe he wouldn’t; he was understanding too. Winston kept thinking about it.Upon entering his new home, ,Winston’s mom greeted him from the kitchen. She called out to him,asking to see his new hairstyle. Winston walked into the kitchen, his cap still on, and slowly took it off.

His mother looked very surprised. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Oh déar,” she shouted. “What happened?” Winston stood silently for a moment before letting out his anger. He blamed his mom for bringing him to this place, torcing him to attend a new school where he believed everyone would make fun of him. He also said he hated this terrible hairstyle, and his hair was beyond fixing.

Just as his anger was about to grow, the doorbell-rang. Winston’s mom calmly told him to answer it. As he opened the door, he forgot to cover his terrible haircut, and there stood his cousin Jack. Since it was Saturday today, they had planned to go skating together. Winston felt extremely embarrassed.

Jack looked at Winston in disbelief.

That afternoon, Winston returned to the barbershop, hoping to find out the truth.

George was a driver and he spent so much time at his work that he could hardly have a meal together with his wife and three children. In the evenings he attended classes, seeking to get knowledge that one day would help him to find a better paying job.

George’s family often complained that he was not spending enough time with them, but his only answer was, “I am doing all this for you and I work hard to provide my family with the best that I can.”

Soon after George had passed his exams, he received a good job offer with a salary, which was significantly higher than he had before. So now George could provide his family with more expensive clothes, some luxury items or vacations in foreign countries. It was like a dream come true, but family still did not get enough attention from George, as he continued to work very hard and often, he did not get to see his family for most of the week.

Time passed and George’s hard work paid off-he was promoted. He decided to relieve his wife from domestic works, so he hired a maid. He also decided that their flat was not big enough for their family and they needed a more spacious one. Thus he needed to work even harder and, moreover, he continued his studies, so that he would be promoted again. George worked so hard that sometimes he even had to spend his Sundays with his clients instead of his wife and children. And again, whenever family asked for his time and complained that they did not spend enough time together, he answered he was doing all this only for them.

A bit later George was promoted, and he could buy a spacious house with a beautiful view. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, George told his wife and kids now he decided not to take any studies or work not so hard so that he could spend more time with his beloved family.

The next morning, George suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

The day finally came when George recovered from his illness.