Our house has always been full of plant life. My mom has a green thumb. Every summer, she transforms our backyard into a fruit and vegetable farm. For two months, our dinner plates are filled with snow peas, sweet green tomatoes and spicy peppers.

Mom puts the same care and attention into her family as she does into the houseplants and garden. I grew under the sunshine of her smile. I loved spending summer afternoons digging up worms in the backyard with my mom. I listened to stories about her childhood in remote northern China. Her favorite was about how she used to get up before the sun to get to school and how the cornstalks, which grew twice as tall as her on both sides of the path, moved in the wind, sending fear up her spine.

This November will mark 21 years since my parents left their comfortable life in China for Canada’s cold weather and incomprehensible (费解的) language. Their first year was hard. They got by in a rented basement apartment; My mom held me in her lap while she sewed wedding dresses. Compared with my mom; I’ve had an easy life.

But I don’t have a green thumb. The bean plant I brought home after using it for a biology project? Eaten by my dog. The strawberry seeds I got for Christmas? Knocked the pot over. Only my mom remembers to water the yellowing plant in my bedroom.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my identity and how it was shaped by my mom’s influence. I might have never discovered a love for reading if she hadn’t read me a bedtime story every night or a love of music if she hadn’t taught me to play the piano. I have so much to learn, so much still to do. But thanks to my mom, I’ve got solid roots that I can draw on as I grow into my future.

When she moved the covering cloth to look upon his tiny face, she was shocked. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be full of heart-breaks for his imperfect appearance.

He grew up, handsome for his misfortune and popular with his fellow students. He might have been class monitor, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.

Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret.” The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person turned up. His talents blossomed into genius, and his school and college became a series of success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.

One day, he urged his father, “Who gave so much for me? I must know! I could never do enough for him.”

“I do not believe you could, ”said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know. . . not yet. ”

The years kept their secret, but the day did com — one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother's casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father reached out a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears.

“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?”

Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen, but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known.

Older brothers provide protections for their younger siblings (兄弟姐妹), but they might also be damaging their education, a new study suggests.

French scientists have discovered that the language ability of children falls two months behind for under-sixes who have an older brother, but not those who have an older sister. The researchers guess that older sisters are far more willing to talk to their younger siblings than brothers to make up for their parents’ being less available now. Older sisters may also compete less than older brothers for parental attention.

To find out, scientists followed a group of 1000 children from birth to five-a-half years old and evaluated their language skills at two years old, three years old and at the end of the study, measuring vocabulary, syntax (句法) and verbal reasoning. On average, first-borns and those with older sisters performed best.

Explaining the phenomenon, Dr Naomi Havron of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris said, “We generally believe that first-borns often have better language ability because their parents often supply them with one-on-one quality time, when they talk about things that interest them, tell them stories, etc.”

“But it is possible that older sisters are more likely to interact with their younger siblings than older brothers, and thus provide their own input. Also, it is possible that girls are less damaging than boys, and are thus in less of a competition for parents’ time and attention.”

The researchers said parents should try and make time to talk to their children to help develop their language skills. Dr Haivron added, “Encourage your children to have positive interactions between themselves, for example by encouraging them to play a game that they both like together.”