I'm not the type of person that enjoy going to the supermarket, but every now and again I do help out with the shopping. As I know, that's part of being in a team. The problem is that unlike my wife who only buys the necessities, I buy like there is going to be natural disaster and we are planning for no tomorrow.

One day, when 1 arrived at home, I carried every single bag from the car to the kitchen in one go. I should have known it would be unachievable but I thought the more I could do on this trip, the fewer trips I would have to make.

As a competitive person, I wanted to do everything in one trip because in my mind, it’s more productive. As you can imagine, it ended in disaster. Two of the bags ended up being crushed(压变形) with a loaf of bread and broken eggs inside.

It reminded me of my time as a head teacher. Every evening, my teachers would walk past my office on the way to the car park with their arms full of things, unable to even give a quick wave out of fear of dropping something.

Like most schools, it isn’t uncommon for my teachers to fit another day’s work in during the evening. In schools, we have this crazy idea that our performance is often measured by how many programs we can carry out, how long we are at school and what time we sit up working until.

Now, it’s too hard to say ‘no’ with the increasing pressure and expectation placed on us. But what I’m going to say is that unlike when I carried every single bag from the car in one hit, maybe we should be better off putting some things down and doing the job properly.

Whether you’re a head teacher or a classroom teacher, it’s a time reminder that we should pay attention to how effective we are, not how much we can do. Maybe I should have taken my own advice and my family would have been able to enjoy their eggs and bread.

Friendship is a very beautiful bond(联系) in which no one is big or small, no one is rich or poor, and no one is ugly or beautiful. 【小题1】 In friendship, there are no terms and conditions. There is no age factor in friendship. Each person has his or her own mind, own views, and own perspective on life. You can learn a lot from every one of your friends.

【小题2】 It is best to have one good friend who accepts you as you are, who bridges gaps and never lets you fall. As the ancient Greek poet Euripides put it, “Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.”

Be happy and cheerful about your friends’ success. 【小题3】 Never be selfish, and always try to give more and expect less. Give whatever you want from your friends, like honesty, love, support and understanding, and never boast to your friends when you are more successful.

If you are looking for a friend who is faultless, you will be friendless. 【小题4】 And for a good friendship, we need patience, because patience is the key to everything. A beautiful friendship is like a childhood friendship, free of jealousy and full of love. Children are unaware of bad feelings, where anger can suddenly arise. This is the quality that makes children pure and special. For a good friendship, one needs true love, and children are full of love.   【小题5】

As you know, for years I’ve planned to write up the memories. Now that you are grown, I’ve signed up for a memoir writing class. You know what? It’s such a struggle!

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night with just the right thought in my mind. Grabbing notepaper and pen, I go in the bathroom and write it down. Great! I don’t want to lose that, and in the morning it may be gone. But I’m having trouble getting back to sleep these days and find myself nodding off in my chair after dinner.

Instead of writing “I remember,” we are encouraged to be creative. The right expression came -during the night. Naturally I jumped up and got it written just the way I wanted. It’s all sort of a torture (拆磨). I’m walking around with dark circles underneath my eyes.

I spend a great deal of time staring out the window, deep in thoughts. I’ve noticed I’m having a little bit of trouble sometimes getting my eyes to focus again. I also carry around a notebook in my purse to seize the thoughts when I’m driving around or at the grocery store. The notebook takes up so much space in my purse!

It’s great to have pictures to illustrate the writings. But in finding just the right ones, I have to search around through all the boxes, and the house is in a mess. in fact, I’m becoming absent-minded, I have to admit. I forgot to turn on the coffee pot the other morning, and yesterday the potatoes burned when I was writing down this great description.

So, my dears, I’ve decided it’s fun to write all the memorable times in my life and to share the happy days of your growing up years. But I think at my age, I need my rest. Enjoy the ones I’ve written because I’ve decided not to write any more memoirs.

Love, Mom