When I was a child growing up in the Netherlands, I often begged my mother to tell me this story about an experience her family had at the end of World War II.

During the terrible last winter of the German occupation, food was scarce in the Netherlands. People were so hungry that they began to eat small animals and many things not normally considered edible (可食用的), including tulip bulbs (郁金香球茎), which could be cooked like potatoes.

For centuries, my mother’s family had owned a highly successful tulip business, which provided jobs for many in our village. But the war shut their business down, and during the winter of hunger, my grandfather, Albert, donated all his tulip bulbs to feed the hungriest villagers. For years, Albert had been trying to grow a black tulip. By careful selection, he was very close. So he guarded these few bulbs carefully to prevent people from stealing them for food.

One day, it was announced that the war was over. But there was much destruction and the Dutch people still faced dangers. My grandfather looked at his pale, thin children and realized that the hunger could continue for a long time, so he made his decision. He seized a shovel (铁铲) and went into the garden. There he found my mother, Vivian, who was just seven years old, looking nervous. Over her shoulder, Albert saw a band of Germans coming toward them down the street. He whispered to Vivian to run inside the house and began digging for his bulbs. But it was too late. Someone had already stolen them. Angry and desperate, Albert ran toward the street screaming, “They have stolen my tulip bulbs!” Vivian, watching from the doorway, cried out and ran to stop her father. Before she could reach him, Albert stumbled and fell, badly hurting his leg.

Our crushes keep changing after every three to four months or maybe even longer or shorter than that. But guys, I hope each and everyone of us remembers our first crush! I find myself blushing whenever I come up with this phrase ‘First Crush’. I find myself going back to the time when I was six, yes because at that age I had my first crush. I was completely unknown to the word ‘Crush’at that time. I was in my first grade when this boy in my class named Sharvil stole my heart.

Sharvil had the perfect ‘Dream boy’ looks. Brown haired, Pale skinned and with a mesmerizing and an infectious smile that would skip my heartbeat. I would find myself always staring at him in the class and would always find a chance to sit beside him in the class. And whenever I would talk with him, I used to wear that stupid, kiddish smile. You can imagine!

One day, during our lunch break, Sharvil sat beside me and nothing else could make me go all way dreamy! He had come there to show me some magic trick with the fingers. The magic trick which he showed was not quite skilled but there goes my crush-moment, I started clapping like an idiot and acted as if I was overly overwhelmed just because it was HIM coming to ME to show the trick. So you can imagine the amount of control he had on my mood.

Once, Sharvil had come to my house to play with my brother who studied in the same class as we. He went upstairs to my brother’s bedroom and the whole time I had my ears stuck to his bedroom door! I was so whipped.

I left the school after my first grade and got an admission in another school. As time passed, I eventually forgot Sharvil as he was replaced my other ‘fluctuating’ crushes. After a few years I had completed my tenth grade and I decided to become an engineer in future. I even registered for a JEE training center. I came to know that there were many of my friends from first grade who attended that class and even Sharvil was one of them! I was eagerly waiting for my class to start. By the time the day arrived, I had already lost my patience to see ‘my’ boy. OK, so let me describe to you the first day of my JEE class. I was trying to hide my excitement right from the time I woke up on that day. I got ready, packed my stuff and boarded the bus. It took thirty minutes for the bus to reach the class. When I reached the class, I found out that the students were still coming and I was not late.

I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.

Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.

I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.

There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.

Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.

It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.