Ashwini was waiting at the door for her children, Amit and Anika. It was the last day of their exams and she had prepared tasty snacks for them.

“Mom, you know Rishit from my class? He always disturbed others during the exam and copied from therm”.

“Hey, let me speak now.” Anika said and kept giggling (咯咯地笑) all the time. “Mom, one of the girls in my class had prepared a matchbox instead of a soapbox.”

He kids continued speaking, gigging, and enjoyed pizzas till late evening. Ashwini was pleased to know that her kids shared everything with her. If the kids faced any problem or had an interesting piece of news, they always shared it with their mother. They were not scared of or nervous about their mother.

In the vacation, Ashwini’s elder sister, Sunita, visited their place along with her two kids, Pranjai and Kanchan. Sunita observed Ashwini’s friendly behavior with her kids and opposed it.

“What is this, Ashwini? You never scold your kids. They are not scared of you.” She said to her younger sister.

“Sunita, kids should never be scared of their parents. They should feel free when they communicate with parents.”

“Weren’t we afraid of our parents? Don’t you remember you used to be nervous while talking to Dad? Yet we had better communication.” Sunita argued.

“Well, we are not living in the same age. We need to be more open: minded with children now.”

But Sunita was not satisfied with her explanation. She continued complaining about how Ashwini’s kids were dependent on her mother for everything.

Until Sunita left, she had almost brain washed Ashwini by constantly reminding her that she was not bringing up kids properly. When Sunita left, Ashwini let out a sigh of relief.

When the school started again, Ashwini’s attitude towards her kids changed a little bit.

Ashwini noticed the change in the kids’ behaviors soon and found it unbearable (无法忍受的).

With a wide smile on her face, 15-year-old Sirin eagerly rushed to her mom to show off her new painting. But Mom raised her eyebrows with eyes wide open, and spoke impatiently, “No time, baby. Right now I am busy with an important talk. Just wait for some time, OK?”

Holding her oil painting, she frowned (皱眉),and then searched for her dad. “Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin exclaimed cheerfully. Her dad turned around while adjusting his tie, grinned at her, and showed his thumbs up!

Immediately, Sirin replied angrily, “Dad, you haven’t seen it yet.”

He smiled at her saying, “No time, baby. I will see it later.” He just patted her back lovingly, kissed her forehead, and rushed for his office.

She was not a kid to be pleased with simple gesture or smile. She stood there for a few seconds, and then stormed off to her own bedroom. Hot air was blowing from her nostrils (鼻孔) ; her face turned into apple red. She threw the painting on the table, slammed the door and threw herself on her bed.

“Why is everybody so busy?” She recalled thousands of incidents that hurt her in preschool, middle school and even in high school too! She assumed at least her own family members would give some values to her thoughts, but they were no exception. Unconsciously, her eyes were filled with tears.

The knocking sound on the door put a sudden stop to her thought. Her mom was calling her for dinner. Sirin deliberately (故意地) came late to join them. She kept silent and didn’t look at anyone, scratching the table mat with her nail. Her mom was puzzled at the unusual behavior. Suddenly the morning incident came to mind. Softly, she asked, “ Honey, did I do anything wrong? ”

At this very moment, Sirin could no longer resist her anger.

When back from school the next day, Sirin was surprised to see her beautifully-decorated paining on the wall.

In the quiet town, the John family lived a seemingly peaceful life. John, a hardworking architect, and Sarah, a dedicated teacher, had always struggled to provide the best for their son, Ethan.

As Ethan entered high school, the issue began to change their once harmonious home. School grades were the first battleground. While John believed in traditional hard work, Ethan, a creative soul, found himself passionate to the arts. Every time he painted, his mother Sarah would praise him wholeheartedly, but John only blamed it a waste of time. So Ethan often argued with his father.

One stormy night, the conflict came to a head. John, reviewing Ethan’s report card, furrowed his brow at the grades. “Ethan, you need to focus more on your studies. These grades won’t help you become an engineer. Stop drawing!”

Ethan couldn’t bear the disappointment in his father’s eyes. “Dad, I want to be a painter, not an engineer.” he argued back. Sarah, trying to stop the argument becoming more serious, quickly interrupted, “John, maybe we should let Ethan try. It could be his true calling.” However, he stuck to his beliefs, “Art won’t put food on the table or pay the bills. You need a stable job.” The debate echoed through the house.

Sarah, torn between the two, tried to settle it.

As the storm outside gradually became calmer, a newfound understanding blossomed within their family.