The new year was coming and my family began to make this year’s plan for it. “The weather report says this unseasonably warm weather will continue through the week. We could shake things up and celebrate the new year with a picnic party in the backyard!” said my mum.

“Our San Francisco weather can be pretty unpredictable,” said my dad. “Maybe we should come up with a sensible indoor plan.” Then he continued, “Hey! Why not start this year with something different? ”

“Yeah!” my little brother, Tex, agreed.

“It’ll be a great!” said Mom. Then she turned to my cousin, Mareya, who was staying with me, “Mareya, we’d love to have you and your family join us. And how about we invite Ollie and Grandma? ”

We all cheered. And after the fastest kitchen cleanup in history, Mareya and I raced over to Ollie’s. Grandma was also excited and suggested we get out the instruments and make a little music.

Grandma’s music suggestion got us thinking. Ollie, Mareya, and I made up a simple song, and somehow, it turned into an idea for a play! Later that afternoon, we went back to my house to find out the costume box. Naturally, my little brother and sister joined right in.

We made up a play, in which the forest animals threw a party to celebrate the arrival of the New Year Queen. Fast-forward to New Year’s Day when we worked all morning to set up our backyard stage. We prepared some flowers and a basket of pine nuts (松子) to greet the Queen when she stepped on the stage.

Unfortunately, the weather that morning was so windy and cold that we all felt freezing. Mum suggested us giving the performance indoors. But we insisted on showing the play outside, as we had all set up for it in the yard. Mum then said that we could start with the play outside, and then had the food inside. Everyone agreed.

Once our audience were seated, Ollie opened the show. When we were half way through the performance, right in the middle of our song-and-dance scene, a strong wind blew! Suddenly, there was a mess as everybody hurried to pick things up. But afterward, the air was calm again.

“The show must go on!” Grandma called from the audience.

Attracted by the smell of pine nuts dropped on the ground, two real squirrels (松鼠) ran onto the stage.

Nothing in my life had prepared me for what I had to do. Choosing my words carefully, and fighting to stay calm, I told my 4-year-old daughter that her grandmother had suffered a stroke（中风），that she was unconscious, and that the doctors said she would probably never wake up. As she moved closer to me, Amelia looked at me, eyes bright, and said, “Maybe Grandma will be okay.” “Maybe she will,” I said, keeping back the tears, But I knew better. I was flying up to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from our Florida home in the morning to say good-bye to my mom.

The rest of that awful week, I joined my brother and father sitting by my mother’s side in the hospital room. I held her hand and talked to her. I told her that we still needed her. I told her that it wasn’t time to leave yet. I told her how much I loved her. And I told her that her little granddaughter, Amelia, believed that she’d get better. The doctors, with all their years of training and experience, offered no hope for recovery. The damage was simply too extensive.

Then, a couple of weeks later, an odd thing happened. Mom woke up. She regained consciousness. Persevered through a long and tough recovery, during which she had to learn to walk, read, and write all over again, and eventually returned home to Dad. The only one who wasn’t shocked was Amerlia. The doctors couldn’t explain it. Amelia didn’t need to. Hope came as naturally to her as breathings.

So why are we so afraid to hope sometimes? Maybe it’s because over the year, life’s disappointments can turn us to disillusionment（理想破灭）. How many times have you heard someone say: “Hope for the best, expect the worst”? That’s not really hope at all.

Hope is being able to look at our world with all of the joy and wonder of a child.

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Carter enjoyed riding the school bus home. The ride home gave him some time to relax after a busy day of fifth grade. He usually sat alone and enjoyed that too. With four siblings（兄妹 ）he didn’t get much time alone. Sometimes he sat with his younger brother, Jackson, but Jackson was sick at home today.

The bus stopped and the tallest boy in his class, Dexter, stepped off followed by his younger brother, Billy. As the bus pulled away, Carter looked back over his shoulder to watch the boys. Dexter was yelling and waving his hands at his little brother. Billy said something Carter could not hear. Dexter yelled, gave his younger brother a hard shove and knocked him to the ground. Billy was on the ground wiping at his eyes, but Dexter walked away.

Carter turned in his seat, feeling disgusted. He hated seeing little kids get picked on (欺负). The sight of Billy on the ground crying was burned into his memory. He tried to think of something else.

He thought of the model car he was working on at home, a 1967 Corvette. He started building it over a week ago and just finished putting it together last night. Tonight, as soon as he finished his homework, he could start painting the car. That was his favorite part. He already had the perfect color of blue picked out.

He hurried off the bus, ran through his yard, and breezed through the kitchen with a quick hello to his mom. She was making spaghetti, which smelled delicious. He ran up the stairs two at a time and rushed into his room.

“Surprise!” his brother Jackson said, throwing his arms into the air. “What are you doing in my room? I thought you were sick!”

“I feel better!”

“What’s on your face? Are you bleeding?”

“No! I’m not bleeding.” Jackson wiped at his face. “It’s probably just paint. Look! Look what I did!” He pointed at the desk in the corner of Carter’ s room.

Carter looked down at his desk in horror.

Carter took a deep breath and then unfolded his fist.