Music has always been an essential part of my family. As a little girl, I often watched my mom singing with others in the church. As I grew older, she and I would sing while we did the dishes or hung clothes. My brother Dean was also a musical soul. In good time or in bad, there was always music in our house. It shaped us, comforted us, and gave us a way to express feelings that might otherwise have gone unspoken.

After Dean became a father, we learned that his oldest son was on the autism spectrum. My nephew Dj did not handle social situation well, and sometimes even for him to speak aloud outside the family was a struggle. He worked very hard to overcome his fears, so much so that the year he was eight, he decided he wanted to be part of the Christmas music program with the other children in his Sunday school class. The part he had been offered was one that required him to sing a verse all on his own - a solo.

My brother carefully explained to him that this would mean singing in front of the audience; there would be no one singing with him. Dj considered this very carefully. After a couple of days, he decided that he would accept the part. He explained to us that he believed he could do it because it was a very special occasion, and lie would practice until he was as perfect as he could be. He said he knew his daddy would help him to be the best singer possible.

For over a month, he and his father practiced together. Every evening would find them locked away in the music room, my brother on guitar, and my nephew’s small voice coming from somewhere deep down inside his little body. He gained confidence, and when the day of the concert arrived, he was certain all would go well. My brother waited backstage, giving Dj double thumbs-up, and he came out lo sit with the rest of the family to watch and take photos.

When it was finally time for Dj to sing, the music played on, and he froze.

Everyone turned to see who was singing, while I knew it was my brother.

I am not a gamer. I’ll be honest: video games and I don’t really see eye to eye, and I have no ambitions to become better. I never have the experience playing against my kids and winning. And that’s okay. Board games, on the other hand, are a different story. At least there, I stand a chance of victory.

One day, my 12-year-old son begged me to play a game with him. He held out a game controller and begged, “Just one game with me? You can use it to control the game through your movements.” His eyes were full of anticipation and I could see the excitement welling up within him. How could I possibly resist such a sincere and heartfelt request? “Just one game.” My son’s face lit up. In a matter of minutes, we were standing in our living room, virtually bowling away.

My son’s amusement at my lack of gaming skills was evident. I could see the struggle on his face as he fought to hold back his laughter. The game controller felt awkward and unfamiliar in my hand, but I did my best to copy my son’s movements and follow his lead. At one point, my son said, “No, Mom. You really have to put some force into it. Like this.” With that, he threw his arm back, stepped forward, and with plenty of force extended out his arm that was holding the controller. Instead of sending the virtual bowling ball flying, the controller went off his hand and broke the TV screen. The impact was immediate and destructive. The screen cracked, sending a crazy mosaic (马赛克) of colors dancing across its surface. It looked like something straight out of a dream.

The air stood still at that moment. The look on my son’s face was a funny mixture of horror, disbelief and guilt. He stayed absolutely frozen for a long moment. Then, slowly, he turned to me. “Mom...” with a weak smile, “Did I just... break the TV?”

Surprisingly, I wasn’t angry at all.

But my son insisted on keeping the broken TV.

The Rainy-Day Picnic

It was Saturday, and Adam was wide awake. The house was quiet, so he knew his parents were still sleeping. His mother had promised that they would go on a picnic in the park today. He had been looking forward to it all week. They would have yummy food to eat at the picnic. They would play catch and maybe fly a kite if the wind was strong. Adam thought maybe he should wake his parents up now.

However, it still looked dark outside. Usually by now the sun was shining through the windows. Maybe it was cloudy, Adam thought. He went to his parents’ room and climbed onto their bed.

“Hello!” said Adam, cheerfully. “It’s time to get up!” His mother yawned, rubbing her eyes. “Hi,” he whispered. “It’s too early. Let’s go back to sleep.” “But it’s morning. And you promised a picnic today!’ “Ugh,” said Mother. “I nearly forget it. Okay, let’s get up.”

The small boy followed her downstairs. His mother went to the glass door that led to the backyard. “It’s raining!” She turned to her son. “Adam, it’s raining. We can’t go on a picnic today.”

Adam’s lip began to shake. His eyes got misty. He sat down on the floor and held his chin (下巴) in his hands. This was not the news he wanted to hear.

“I’m sorry,”said his mother. “Let’s get some snacks and watch some cartoons for a while.” They sat together on the couch. They snuggled (依偎)，and it was cozy. Half an hour later, his father listened to the bad news about the rain and the picnic. “Hmm,” he said. “Rain might spoil a picnic in the park, but it can also be fun sometimes. ”He finished his coffee and asked Adam to go find his raincoat and rubber boots. “Let’s go for a walk.”