The day Dana and Jeff’s daughter Melody was born was nothing like they expected. The words the doctor said to them completely shook them, “Your daughter was born with a cleft lip (唇裂).” It was impossible for the couple to hide their sadness. They couldn’t believe it was true until they saw their daughter in person. Seeing her cleft made Dana and Jeff heartbroken more than anything. It broke their heart to imagine the kind of life Melody would lead in the future.
When the doctor told Dana and Jeff that their daughter’s condition was treatable with a cleft lip surgery (外科手术), the couple saw a ray of hope. Rather than feeling stressful like the first few days, they promised themselves they never wanted their daughter to suffer from that. They would support Melody as best they could.
Dana and Jeff were ready to do anything for Melody. After bringing Melody home, they immediately began looking for cleft surgery options. However, no matter where they turned, getting Melody the surgery she needed was expensive, and the various treatments and medications she needed in the following would also be much more costly than the young family could afford.
One day, however, things took a turn for the better. While browsing through a medical forum one evening, Jeff stumbled upon (意外发现) a post about a nonprofit organization that specialized in cleft lip surgeries for children. The organization, named Smileatfuture, is dedicated to providing free surgeries to families who could not afford the procedure. The couple had seen a lot of photos and read a lot of stories about children who had cleft surgeries sponsored by Smileatfuture, and the results were unbelievable. The idea that Melody could grow up with hardly a scar (伤疤) where her cleft was lit a fire under the couple. Without any hesitation, Dana and her husband reached out to Smileatfuture and handed in an application for medical aid.
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Everything went more smoothly than Dana and Jeff had expected.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The big day for Melody’s surgery finally came.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There are too many treasures in life we take for granted, the worth of which we don’t fully realize until they’re pointed out to us in some unexpected way. So it was with Mama’s minestrone soup (意大利浓菜汤).
There was no recipe for her minestrone soup. For our large immigrant family, Mama’s soup guaranteed we would never go hungry. It was a symbol of security. Its recipe was created spontaneously (非计划安排地) from what was in the kitchen. And we could judge the state of our family economy by its contents. A hearty soup with tomatoes, pasta, beans, carrots, celery, onion, corn and meat indicated things were going well. A water y soup suggested hard times.
At one time, however, Mama’s soup pot became a source of embarrassment to me, for I feared it would cost me a new friend I had made at school. Sol was a thin, dark-haired boy, and an unusual pal for me because his father was a doctor and they lived in the best part of town. Often Sol invited me to his home for dinner. The family had a cook in a white uniform who worked in a kitchen with shining utensils (厨房用具). The food was good, but I found it bland (清淡的), lacking the heartiness of my home food served from flame-blackened pots. Moreover, the atmosphere matched the food. Everything was so formal. Sol’s mother and father were polite, but conversation around the table was subdued (克制的). And no one hugged! In our family, warm hugs were a constant and if you didn’t kiss your mother, she demanded: “What’s the matter, you sick?” But at that time in my life, all this was an embarrassment.
I had known Sol would like to eat dinner at our house, but that was the last thing I wanted. My family was so different.
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Finally when Sol asked again if he could come to our house, I had to say yes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But to my amazement, I noticed Sol took a spoonful of Mama’s minestrone soup.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Last weekend, I was standing at the finish line of the St. Francis Franny Flyer 5-kilometer (5K) race, waiting for my nine-year-old son Kade to cross it.
Kade, though a fourth-grader, was already a skilled runner. He had been a part of a cross-country club since he was six years old. He had been working hard to improve his endurance and running skills ‘as he was determined to be a professional runner and compete in national and international races when he was older.
There were two St. Francis Franny Flyer races happening at the same time that day. The 5K race weaved (穿行) through neighborhoods, from the church to Pinecone Road and back while the 10K followed the same route but extended north on Pinecone Road. Race volunteers were available on Pinecone Road to show runners the way, and there were also signs directing the two different courses.
I signed Kade up for the 5K race as a way to train him for the Junior Olympics. He had never run a 10K race, not even in training, so the 10K race was never an option.
Kade was pretty fast and he set a 5K record for his age group at last year’s race, so I was surprised to see slower runners crossing the finish line before him. “This is odd. He should be ahead of them. He might just be having a bad race,” I thought to myself. But as the minutes passed, my worry intensified. My heart raced at the thought that Kade might be lost or injured.
Anxious and worried, I drove along the 5K race route in search of Kade, but he was nowhere to be found. A surge of fear and despair overwhelmed me, causing a flood of tears to pour down my face. I turned to race officials and volunteers for help, and people started looking for him.
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Later, a volunteer told me he had spotted Kade on the 10K course.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After what seemed like a long time, Kade finally appeared.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Centering myself on the ice of the skating rink (溜冰场), I prepared for my skating performance. A confident smile spread across my face. This was the day I’d perform my best skating in a year, attempting a challenging jump known as the axel (前外一周半跳). My friend Caleb yelled from the stands, “You can do it, Harper!” My other friends crossed their fingers. My dad also shouted, “You look beautiful!”
As the music started, I was fully prepared. With a graceful circle, spins, and a broad smile, I began my performance. Everything progressed smoothly until I reached the crucial axel jump. As I prepared to jump, suddenly a mix of excitement and nerves filled me. To be frank, I could do it when I practiced off-ice, but I’d only landed it on-ice several times in my entire life. My coach had strategically placed it at the start of my routine to ensure my legs were at their peak for this demanding move.
I took the leap, but performed a distinct jump. It was a mere half-circle, falling short of the axel’s one and a half. I heard my friends sigh and saw my coach raise an eyebrow.
Determined, I attempted the axel again, but failed. I repeatedly tried and failed, spending so much time on the ice. When my routine ended, my dress was wet and I was far behind the beat. The silence was deafening, marking the most embarrassing moments of my skating career. As I skated away, I could sense the weight of everyone’s stare upon me.
As I made my way to my coach and dad, I heard the crowd cheering for Marlo, a charming eight-year-old, who was gracefully skating past me, leaving me with an intense sense that my skating career had come to an end.
My coach handed me my skate guards, asking if I was improvising (即兴创作) my routine. I didn’t know how to reply. My friends were embarrassed for me, avoiding my eyes. They seemed to discuss me except Caleb, my close friend. He brought me hot chocolate and apologized before skating his own routine.
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I felt an urge to go home, but my dad insisted we wait for the results.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With doubt I returned onto the skating rink the next morning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Far from their home in Boucherville, Quebec, looking to remember as many once-in-a-lifetime memories as they could collect, Mia with her parents Edith and Smith rode horses across the bright green grassland of Mongolia, boated on the blue sea off Cambodia, camped under the soaring brick-red peaks of Namibia and flew in a hot air balloon over the brown, lunar-like landscape in Turkiye.
Back in 2013, when Mia was 3, the family began a frustrating series of visits to doctors, none of whom had an answer for her lack of night vision. In 2015, as a last resort, an eye doctor enrolled the family in a research project. After two years, their entire genome (基因组) was mapped out.
“Right now,” the doctor continued, “there is no cure.”
Full of emotion, Edith stood up, excused herself and walked to the nearest bathroom, where she locked herself in it. Unwilling to lose it in front of Mia, who wouldn’t understand, she sat there alone and cried.
While it was tempting to seek a second opinion, Edith and Smith knew that genetic mapping did not lie: The results were definitive and life-changing.
They hesitated about explaining to 7-year-old Mia what her condition meant. Should they let her be a kid, innocent and unaware, for as long as possible? A few weeks later, it just came out, part of a coversation about disabilities in general while having lunch at their kitchen table.
“You know the problem with your eyes?” Edith asked Mia. “You’re probably going to be blind when you’re an adult.” The truth was more abrupt (意外的) than Edith had hoped, but at least it was done. Edith held her breath as she waited for Mia to respond.
“Oh, that’s not fun.” the girl said before changing the subject.
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Later that week, Mia started to keep everything in its place in the house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After two years’ work, they set out for the yearlong trip while Mia could still see.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Avoiding people in a small town requires the skills of a spy. So Brad Ryan moved like a ghost, taking precautions to stay far away from the woman who he thought had broken his heart. He had not seen or spoken to Grandma Joy for six years.
One day, he received a call from his mom, saying his elder sister had announced her engagement and a wedding date had been set for a Duncan Falls church. Brad’s heart sank. because Grandma Joy would be there. But he loved his sister, and there was no way he’d miss the wedding.
Despite Joy Ryan’s first name, there were lots of sufferings and regrets instead of joy in her life, She grew up in a home with no electricity, running water or plumbing. She attended a one-room schoolhouse, And she suffered the loss of two sons. She was a widow (寡妇)for 14 years, She lived a small life that stopped at the edge of the county line. And she’d never had the chance to see what she called the great outdoors other than a trip ta see relatives in Louisiana.
“My earliest memory of her is when I was 3.” said Brad. “We’d walk to Blue Rock State Park, which is close in her house She’d help me lift rocks in the creek (小溪)to find crawfish. We’d hold them in our hands and talk about how beautiful it was being in nature. No one in my family thought like that.”
However. as Brad entered adolescence, he was growing emotionally distant from his family. with occasional quarrels. One day. a violent conflict broke out between Brad and his father. Brad turned to his grandma, hoping for help or just a kind word. But he got neither. He found Grandma Joy is in his father’s side. “That was the end of my relationship with Grandma Joy.” he said
At the wedding venue, on seeing Grandma Joy. thin and gaunt (憔悴的). Brad found himself thinking a lot about her and the happy time they spent together. It puzzled him why that memory in particular stayed with him. Now grandma. 78, walked unsteadily into the Duncan Falls church.
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Brad hesitantly walked over to her.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After that day, Brad decided not to leave any regrets in his grandma’s life.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My parents were taking my sisters and me to the beach after several months of planning. We were all very excited. However, we didn’t know what awaited us that day.
We set out early as the beach was 200 miles away from our house. After travelling for two hours, we had only covered 100 miles because of the poor condition of the road. Moreover, that was a remote road and we didn’t see anyone or any house along the way. Suddenly, a loud noise frightened us. The car sharply swung to one side as my lather hit the brakes. Shocked, we got out and saw a flat tire (轮胎). Dad made a phone call to the roadside rescue, and the response he received was that it would take two hours to arrive. Dad decided to change the tire on his own, even though he had never done it before, as he always got help from a technician. He spent over an hour looking up how to change a flat tire in the car’s handbook and finally got it done. After he finished changing if, it was midday, so we decided to take a lunch break before hitting the road again.
After driving for another hour, the car made some strange sounds, slowed down and stopped. Dad tried to start the engine again, but it didn’t work. It was clear that something was wrong. With no houses or other vehicles in sight, we realized we were stranded (使滞留) in the middle of nowhere.
A feeling of frustration and disappointment washed over us. However, we knew we had to stay positive and find a solution. Dad lifted the hood (引擎盖) and examined the engine, hoping to find a simple fix. After some time, he discovered a loose wire that might cause the problem. With his limited knowledge of car mechanics, he managed to reconnect the wire. To our relief, the engine roared back to life. We cheered, grateful that the problem was resolved without needing outside help. Determined to reach our destination, we got back on the road, hoping the worst was behind us.
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But when the rain poured down, we knew the bad luck wasn’t over.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, after a long and hard journey, we arrived at the beach.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bobby, my brother, and I would spend our usual Saturday with Grandpa, cleaning his house. Mom would take us to his home in the early morning. Since childhood, Bobby and I had been spending the day dusting, mopping and changing the sheets on his bed.
Grandpa grew up in a poor family. His dad died when he was a teenager. Then he had tol eave school, run the family farm and raise his brother and sister. He worked as a nightdoor keeper for a company within walking distance of his home, and the highlight of his week was the reward that he gave my brother and me for cleaning. And it was the moment when we felt the happiest.
This Saturday, after Bobby and I finished cleaning, Grandpa decided to invite us to dinner. When we finally arrived at his favorite restaurant, the waitresses greeted him as along-lost elder. Their smiles and waves followed us to our favorite table as we placed our orders. And then we laughed and ate. Grandpa praised how well we had cleaned his place, telling anyone who would like to listen about every task we had accomplished.
Regardless of who was serving us at the time, each of the other waitresses would come up to say “hi” to Grandpa and congratulate his grandkids on their work. It was a restaurant, but it was like our home. When dinner was over, the waitress would bring the check and hand it to Grandpa. This time, it was Gloria that bent close to him, and told him the amount of the check.
Grandpa carefully dug into the pocket of his trousers and brought out a worn coin purse. He carefully laid out the coins and paid the bill. Then he gave Gloria a tip, but it wasn’t enough. I was ashamed that he got the amount of the tip wrong, and we were embarrassed. I was about to say something when Gloria grabbed my hands. “Come and get some flowers, today’s gifts, Susie,” she said as she led me toward the counter.
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“I want you to listen carefully, Susie,” Gloria said to me seriously.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I listened to Gloria and stared at those flowers, deep in thought.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6-year-old Quinn Hill became her family’s hero when she took immediate action during an emergency that saved her mother’s life with the help of her neighbor, Mrs. Smith.
Jennifer, a 39-year-old single mother, began the day by sending her child, Hill, to school. Having no idea what would happen, Jennifer was filled with anxiety. After all, it was the first day of a new school year for Hill, a fresh start! On the way school. she repeatedly reminded Hill to solve problems positively and fit in. Though worried, Jennifer had to wave goodbye to her daughter, watching her towards the school gate.
The whole day was packed with housework. Jennifer tidied the house, washed clothes, and prepared for the evening meal. As the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Jennifer picked Hill up from school. On seeing Jennifer, Hill couldn’t wait to hug her, sharing the school experiences. Chatting and laughing accompanied them all the way. Hill’s innocent laughter was like Jennifer’s ray of sunshine.
Approaching home, they encountered Mrs. Smith, a most kind and thoughtful housewife living in their neighborhood for many years. Mrs. Smith often invited Jennifer and Hill to her home and shared her homemade desserts and cookies. The two families developed a close relationship and Hill liked to stay with Mrs. Smith, who always brightened her days with willingness and timely help. After exchanging greetings, they went back to their own homes.
On arriving home, Jennifer set out to prepare dinner. As the sun began to set, the house was full of a pleasant smell of cooking food. Jennifer and Hill sat at the kitchen table when Jennifer suddenly began to seize. She was sitting in a chair, looking up at the ceiling. and experiencing abnormal breathing. She then fell out of the chair onto her left side, her hands balled into fists, and her body was shaking violently. Her eyes were open, and Hill kept calling “Mommy, Mommy”, but she could not respond.
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Realizing the severe situation, Hill ran out for help.
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Jennifer finally came to herself in the hospital.
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I wanted to go to a party. Especially it was a beach party. It had been almost the only thing my friends had been talking about for the last couple of weeks. But My mom had said no. The more desperately I pleaded her case, the more forcefully my mother said no. “I don’t care who’s going,” said coldly my mother, “you are not going.” I was heartbroken. This was my best friend’s party.
Sunday dinner came around and my grandmother joined the family for the meal. Gran noticed my depression but didn’t say a word. It was my turn to wash up and Gran said, “Let me help you.” “What’s up?” asked Gran as I dumped the dishes into the foaming water. Gran wiped a plate with a tea towel. “Mom won’t let me go to my best friend’s party.” I said sadly. “Has mom explained why she doesn’t want you to go?” asked Gran. “No.” I replied. “Then for a moment, put yourself in her position.” said Gran. “If you were mom, what would your objections be?”
I hadn’t stopped to think about my mom’s side. “Well,” I answered, “it’s a beach party. Maybe she doesn’t trust us or thinks we’ll get into trouble.”
“Are there going to be any adults there?” asked Gran. “No,” I said, “who wants their parents hanging around when you’re trying to have fun?” “Might it just be,” said Gran, “your mother doesn’t want anything unfortunate to happen to you.”“Nothing will happen.” I objected. “Maybe you’re right,” said Gran, “but maybe mom’s worried in case it could.”
Gran looked at me gently, seeming to expect my agreement. For a minute or so, I kept silent, pondering for a while about my eagerness for the party. “Maybe, you are right, however, is there no hope?” I inquired. “Not necessarily.” answered Gran, lost in thought.
Paragraph 1: “Then maybe think of a compromise.” suggested Gran.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: The long-awaited beach party finally came.
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