The first of June, the King family was going on holiday tomorrow. The girls no longer had to do housework for the family, so there would be three months’ free time for them, and all the girls cheered up, jumping up and down with excitement. “Vacation, finally!” shouted Meg, coming home to find Jo already lying on the sofa. They started to plan what they would do on the vacation. All the girls reached an agreement that they would not do anything for a while, but play all the time and rest if their mother didn’t mind. “May we all try what we want to do, Mother?” asked Meg. Mrs March agreed to the plan and said they could try the experiment for a week. “It will be wonderful, I’m sure,” said Meg. “Fun forever, and no work!” cried Jo.

The next morning, Meg spent the morning with a friend and the afternoon reading in the apple tree. Jo pulled all her toys out of her closet but then left them to play some music. Amy put on her best dress and went outside to draw, hoping someone would notice the beautiful young artist. No one appeared, so she went for a walk, got caught in the rain, and came home dripping.

In the evening, they all assured their mother the experiment was going well. She smiled, said nothing, and did her work, keeping their home pleasant and running smoothly.

The week seemed to get longer and longer with nothing much to do, and it affected all three girls. Meg found time hanging heavily and read till her eyes hurt and she was sick of books. Jo sometimes suddenly shook her doll and shouted at it. Amy was quite bored, for she didn’t like dolls or reading, and she couldn’t draw all the time. By Friday the girls were glad that it was nearly over, but no one would admit that they were tired of the experiment.

On Saturday morning, the girls got up to find no breakfast and no mother to be seen.

At this time, Mrs March returned and the girls rushed to their mother with a sense of achievement.

3 . My father was the kind of guy who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with new best friends for life! He was a hard worker and was known as “Mr Fix-It” to everyone. He was also one of the most cheerful, affable (和葛可亲的) and gentle people you would ever meet, which made us, his beloved daughters feel proud.

But when Dad was in his fifties, my family began to notice him struggling. His work and skills began to become worse and worse, and he became depressed and withdrawn. This was not the man I knew. At the age of fifty-eight, Dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As for our family, it was the worst.

Our first step was to attend a meeting hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association to learn more about the disease and programs that might help us. That meeting inspired me to start a Walk to End Alzheimer’s^® team. But I still wanted to do more. In 2017, I became a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter.

The loss from this disease is gradual. My father’s decline continued for several years. Losing my father more and more each day was leaving a big hole in my heart and my life. I decided to fill that hole with action to honor my father.

That’s why I recently decided to leave a gift to the Alzheimer’s Association by naming it as a beneficiary of my retirement plan. My future gift will provide money to support research because I don’t want another person in my family or someone in other families to have to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

I am so proud to be able to honor my father and other family members who lost their fights to Alzheimer’s in this way. My dad was an inspiration to me, and I hope, through my gift, I can inspire others to join in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

On making friends

In life we can hardly do without friends. There are many difficulty and problems that we can’t overcome with only their own efforts. Moreover, we need friends to share with our joys and sorrows; otherwise, we will suffer from loneliness. However, all friends can help us when we are in great need. So what on earth is true friendship? As a popular saying went, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” True friends are those which never desert you when you are in need. On a contrary, they will offer you sincerely help even at the cost of their own interests. Beside, they will encourage you to stick to what is right or avoid what is wrong or illegal. In conclusion, true friendship lies in sincerity and self-sacrifice.

5 . Even before she lost her teeth, I thought my mother, Clara, was funny looking. Mother had a long nose. My nose was also too long. At 16, I announced that I wanted to have it “done”. For many years I was delighted with my new look.

While in her 40s, Mother lost most of her teeth to an ongoing infection. Over time, her jaw shrank and her face collapsed around it, When she heard one of her co-workers whisper that she “looked about 95 year old” she shrugged it off. I was determined that no co-worker, or anybody else, was ever going to say such things to me.

Twenty-five years ago, I had a facelift. Better yet, modern dentistry allowed me to keep most of my teeth. But my hands became Mother’s hands. My tightened face bore the hint of an all-too-familiar network of fine wrinkles. Considering the advances in skin care, I could have had my problems filled. But year after year I hesitated. Mother had grown weak, then ill and then died in 1986.

It wasn’t until recently, years after the long loneliness that follows the loss of any parent that I realized why I’d left my aging face alone. In the mirror, an 80-year-old woman stared back at me with her skin, far more lined than that of my friends. Despite years of anxiety and plastic surgery, I looked a lot like the woman who once told me that life is about inner strengths, not appearances, and who turned out to be right.

I wonder now why I ever wanted to eradicate (根除) Mother from my reflection. Who would have imagined how comforted I’d feel these days, knowing I have only to look into the mirror to call up that much-loved woman?

10 . Your relationship with your mom is supposed to be one of the most special relationships in your life, which makes it much harder when she says something that hurts your feelings.     1     Don’t worry. Here are expert recommendations for talking with your mom and taking care of yourself.

Stay calm. Breathe deeply to control your emotions. It’s completely normal to feel your temper rise if she said something really mean. However, don’t immediately react or argue. Take slow, deep breaths to calm yourself.     2    

Tell your mom that she hurt your feelings. Express yourself so your mom knows that you’ re hurt. It can be scary to approach your mom and discuss what she said, but it’s a big step.     3     In this way she’s more likely to listen to you. Make sure you tell her why you’ re upset and what you’d like to see change.

    4     Take care of your mental well being by stopping harmful negative talk. If your mom says hurtful things, you might start to believe them unless you change your outlook. If you think something like, “I must be a bad person,” stop and tell yourself, “Actually, I’m quite a good person.” Repeat these positive thoughts and eventually, you’ll believe them.

Spend time around emotionally-supportive people. Take a break from the stress and anxiety that comes from interacting with your mom.     5     Talk to them about your situation and you may get help from them. Knowing you are around people who love you for who you are can make you feel much better.