2 .    Lots of kids like to talk about sports, but Joseph D’Avirro talks about sports like a professional host in a show called Sliders & Curveballs. The 9-year-old from Newington, Connecticut is a natural at sports talk and has been broadcasting the show—which is about baseball, basketball and other sports—with his dad, Mike D’Avirro, since September 2019.

   The D’Avirro started the broadcast after two former college roommates of Mike died, which made Mike want to spend more time with his son. Then the idea came to him. So far, they have done about 50 programs. Joseph’s favorite is when the father-and-son team interviewed Jim Calhoun, the coach leading the Connecticut Huskies to three national titles. They have also interviewed important sports authors.

   The father and son make about one 30- to 40-minute podcast each month. They prepare for the podcasts by deciding on the questions they want to ask the guest. Joseph asks half of the questions, and Mike handles the other half. Joseph reads his questions again and again to get them in his brain well. It is a lot of work, but Joseph says it is “a lot more fun than homework”. Joseph has also learned to speak up and speak clearly. He has to listen and to go with the flow of the conversation. For example, he said, “If the guest is talking about sports in the 1990s, you have to think about sports in the 1990s.”

When asked how long he and his dad will continue doing the show, he answered, “Until my dad starts growing gray hairs.” Joseph has other ambitions when he grows up—to be a sports player, a sports broadcaster or to own a basketball team. Those are big dreams, but Joseph is already living a dream: talking sports and spending time with his dad.

5 . I’ve just arrived from New York City at the airport in Rome and already I’m lost, wandering left and right and searching for the right exit. I’m supposed to meet my wife Elvira, who lives in Italy now, and then drive to Guardia Sanframondi, the little town where we own a house, to meet our newborn granddaughter Lucia, now all of 11 weeks old.

But I takes a wrong turn, and then another, all in vain. I’m lost for 15 minutes, then 30, and finally about 45, unable to get my passport properly scanned and pick up my luggage. This is more than mildly inconvenient. After all, I’ve just flown more than 4,000 miles, a flight into my future.

But suddenly I see Elvira, who is holding baby Lucia in her arms. I’m found.

I stay in Italy for three weeks. It’s impossible for me to get enough of Lucia, and so I follow a strict agenda(日程). Hold Lucia in my arms. Kiss Lucia all over her face. Wheel Lucia in her carriage in the most public places available. Make faces at her and even sillier gestures and sounds.

Today, at 70, I’m a permanent resident of Italy, with Lucia living a five-minute walk away. We visit her at her house and she visits us at ours almost every day. In most American families, adult children with grandchildren live in different towns and states far away. Italian families, on the other hand, are more likely to live near each other. Sometimes three generations here even stay together in the same home. I’ve happily turned my life upside-down to be a grandpa Italian-style. Lucia is just what I need right about now. If I’m lucky, I’ll be just what she needs, too.

6 . On Mother’s Day, surprising your mother with a delicious cake is a must. Before you order a cake, you need a Mother’s Day cake design.

Dessert(甜点) Chocolate Cake

Who in the world can say no to a cake that is chocolate inside? This cake design is unique—other than the chocolate, there are delicious and lovely desserts on top of it.

Price: $42, 6-inch/$58, 8-inch

Black Velvet Cake

Black is forever beautiful! And as mothers are a long preference for love and beauty, you can pick this Black Velvet Cake to surprise your mother. As beautiful as the cake looks outside, when you cut the cake, it is relaxing to see the red and black delicious layers(夹层)inside.

Price, $32, 6-inch/$42, 8-inch

Naked Rose Cake

We know you came across the thought of surprising your mom with a bunch(束)of flowers as gifts for.

Mother’s Day, and you should go with it. With the cake design that we bring here, you can take a floral surprise ahead. Three layers of baked batter, three layers of whipped cream, and the topping of real strawberries and real pink roses!

Price: $36, 6-inch/$48, 8-inch

Wafers and Chocolate Strawberries Cake

Does your mom love wafers? Is she a fan of chocolate? And is she also mad on strawberries? Breaking the usual round shape, here is a Mother’s Day cake design in a square, which is covered with breakable wafers on the sides. Also, there is white and black chocolate and fresh strawbemes on top of it

Price: $38,6-inch/$50,8-inch

9 . Most of us travel with our parents as children and teenagers. For some of us, during the travel, our parents are our inspiration. These trips are normally full of rental cars, beaches, and hamburgers. My family would go to Galiano island every summer, and we did a week in Mexico in 1995, and then we did two different trips to Anaheim to experience the magic of Disney, Universal, and Knott’s Berry Farm.

But all of these are childhood experiences and memories. I didn’t really truly travel with my parents until I was an adult when I got the chance to travel with mom and dad.

I was in New Zealand for a study abroad, and invited my parents to come down for a 2-week road trip around the North Island and then 10 days in Fiji. Why not? They said, as if this was something they were invited to do every day. I didn’t really plan anything, but my mom had done some reading and I knew some highlights after living in New Zealand for 5 months.

I had booked a hotel for their first night in Auckland. The only other preparation I had done was to book a rental car. My parents immediately reached an agreement that I should be the driver, for the whole two weeks. The main reason for this, understandably, was that neither of them had ever been in a country where you drive on the left hand side of the road and on the right hand side of the car. This led to me driving my parents around the entire North Island of New Zealand for 2 weeks! But still, everybody had jobs. Dad had the maps, and mom had the guidebook, and I just took them where they told me to go.

Sometimes, I was asked who I was traveling with. When I said “my parents”, the response was, “Ohhh, older people.” Actually, I have some tips on travelling with parents happily.

10 . The mental health of children is connected to their parents’ mental health. A recent study asked parents to report on their children’s mental and physical (身体的) health as well as their own mental health. One in 14 children aged 0~17 years had a parent who reported poor mental health, and those children were more likely to have poor general health and a mental or developmental disability.

Being mentally healthy during childhood includes reaching developmental milestones, learning healthy social skills and how to solve problems. Mentally healthy children are more likely to have a happy life and are more likely to work well at home, in school, and in their communities.

A child’s healthy development depends on their parents who serve as their first sources(来源) of support in becoming independent and leading healthy and successful lives.

The mental health of parents and children is connected in many ways. Parents who have their own mental health challenges, such as dealing with anxiety (fear or worry), may have more difficulty providing care for their children compared to parents who describe their mental health as good. Caring for children can create challenges for parents, particularly if they lack (缺乏) support, which can have a negative effect on a parent’s mental health. Parents and children may also experience shared risks, such as living in unsafe environments, and the like.

Fathers are important for improving children’s mental health, although they are not as often included in research studies as mothers. The recent study looked at fathers and found similar connections between their mental health and their children’s general and mental health as for mothers. Fathers and mothers need support, which, in turn, can help them support their children’s mental health.