How are you? Have you had a good new week? I do hope you are well and have a relaxed and easy weekend.

I had a 9 day's Chinese New Years Holiday since Feb 17 and I flied to Wuxi to visit my parents and my younger brother's family last Saturday.

I spent a happy time with my family for 3 days. To teach my niece to paint, to sing for my parents, to walk by the Tai Lake with my brother and his wife, to see a painting and calligraphy exhibition, to enjoy the plum blossoms, to visit my former colleagues and neighbors, to eat in the restaurants. When I sat among my parents and younger brother's family to have the first lunch together, a dear and warm feeling grew up in my heart. I felt that I have had a family.

In the short 3 days, I felt much care for and love from my family. My younger brother bought a new air-conditionor and fixed a new Internet line in his bookroom for me. When I went upstairs to rest in the midnight, the hot air in my bed room and the warmth from electric equipment on the bed made me moved. After all, all of these were done by the younger brother who was growing up on my back. I mean when he was near 3 years old in 1966, the Culture Revolution started, my father was closed somewhere. My mother was in the hospital. I, a 9 years old little girl stood the responsibility to look after my sisters and my paralysis elder brother who had gone away 4 years ago, while I carried my younger brother on my back no matter where I was.

Now, the youngest one in the family has not only had his own family, but also he has created a very successful career. Following Chinese tradition, he wanted to stand the responsibility to take care of our parents as the only boy child in the family. He picked up my parents to his home and offered them a comfortable life condition. However, my parents chose to live in the rest-home for they wanted to live among the people with same age, while they did not want to bring my younger brother any burden. Then, like two Elder Little Children, every weekend, my brother and his wife bring them back home and every Monday they send them back the rest-home (I call it as a kindergarten).

Ha, my parents are really a couple that the more they are elder, the more they love each other. With a 82 years old age, they still play Men ball, cheers and music; reading books, writing calligraphy and doing everything hand by hand with a happy and harmonious way. They took part in a Men Ball Game by Wuxi TV Station as a couple of the elders, as the members of an elder's Men Ball team of a university, they took part in the game of 6 China eastern provinces and cities in 2006 and ended in the second place.

Tuesday morning, when I sat between my parents in my brother's car to go to the airport, I felt as if I had come back in the time as a 5 or 6 years old little girl, who was in a light blue dress that was sewed by my mother and be carried on my father's shoulders to see some music performance. When we were at the airport, my father drew my suitcase and my mother's hand my hand, I hold her when I felt her hand was cold and I wished to warm her with my body temperature. I felt that her body has changed weaker and smaller and she is at the age that needs to be looked after by her children. Both of my sister in law and I are thinking of ordering a wheelchair for her, for making her to have a rest at any time.

That day, since I was on the airplane until I reached at home, I made or got 5 telephones with my family. The care for and love among family are warming our hearts via the telephone calls.

How are you? Have you had a good holiday recently? Have you felt the warm love among your family?

I am just a learner on art, music, English, French and the work on the web site in my free time. Anyway, I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be An Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship and Language Learning. During the process to help the others and to improve myself.

I do appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your great help continuously now and in the coming time...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirleyz004@yahoo.com or shirley@ebridge.cn . You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum.

--Shirley
Written and Edited on Sun, Feb,25, 2007