Tom, a 15-year-old boy, and his mother Marissa didn’t have much in life, living daily with just enough to eat three meals and pay the bills. Without his mother knowing, Tom had been saving up his pocket money for months to buy her a birthday present. He had collected a total of $25.

As a cleaner at a nearby park, Marissa never took a bus, choosing to walk to and from work to save money. One day, Tom noticed that her mother came home wet to the skin. She told him her umbrella broke because of the strong wind and she wanted to get home in time to have dinner with him.

The following day, his mother woke up with a fever.

“Mom, don’t get up from bed,” Tom told her. “I’ll attend to you today. Here is your medicine,” he said, handing it to her with a glass of water. After Marissa took the medicine, Tom walked to the nearby supermarket to buy something to cook a hot bowl of soup for his mother.

It occurred to him that his mother’s birthday was in a couple of days, so he wanted to get her mother an umbrella first and spend the rest of his money on food.

“What is your strongest umbrella here, sir?” he asked the shop assistant. “I am looking for something that doesn’t break when hit by the wind and something that would last for years.” The man showed Tom some umbrellas in different colors and Tom chose a purple one, which was his mother’s favorite color. It was $22. After checking out, Tom couldn’t help smiling after being able to fit his $25 to buy everything he needed. He even had some money to spare!

While Tom was walking back home, it suddenly started to pour. He ran toward a nearby bus stop to seek shelter when he noticed an old lady walking slowly while everyone around her ran toward shaded areas. Without hesitation, he took the umbrella out of his bag. The old woman was surprised to feel that the rain had stopped suddenly.

She looked up and realized an umbrella was sheltering her from the rain.

Tom arrived home and his mother asked why he had been out for so long.

After 22 years of marriage, I have discovered the secret to keep love alive in my relationship with my wife, Peggy. I started dating with another woman.

It was Peggy’s idea. One day she said to me, “Life is too short, you need to spend time with the people you love. You probably won’t believe me, but I know you love her and I think that if the two of you spend more time together, it will make us closer.”

The “other” woman my wife was encouraging me to date is my mother, a 72-year-old widow who has lived alone since my father died 20 years ago. Right after his death, I moved 2, 500 miles away to California and started my own life and career. When I moved back near my hometown six years ago, I promised myself that I would spend more time with Mom. But with the demands of my job and three kids, I never got around to seeing her much beyond family get-togethers and holidays.

Mom was surprised when I called and suggested the two of us go out to dinner.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I thought it would be nice to spend some time with you,” I said. “Just the two of us.”

“I would like that a lot,” she said.

When I pulled into her driveway, she was waiting by the door with her coat on. Her hair was curled, and she was smiling. “I told my friends I was going out with my son, and they were all impressed. They can’t wait to hear about our evening,” Mom said.

Para 1: Minutes later, we arrived at a restaurant in the neighborhood.

Para 2:“How was your date?” Peggy asked when I got home.

Many years ago there was a young man who was getting ready to graduate from university. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s (商人) showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man waited for signs that his father had bought the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped (包裹好的) gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible (圣经), with the young man’s name embossed (饰刻) in gold.

Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible in his father’s study.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make the arrangements, he received a call telling him his father had passed away.

With tears, he opened the Bible.