My daughter has a new app on her phone that can clear up and improve old photos. She used it to make copies of pictures from my old photo albums, brighten them up, and email them back to me. There were pictures of Mom, Dad, Grandma, my brothers, me and my first dog Duke. Looking at them brought back so many loving, happy memories. I even put one on my laptop computer as my new screensaver.

It is a picture of me sitting in my favorite chair, across from the woodstove, next to a bookcase full of old books. I am wearing my special Snoopy sweatshirt. There is a big smile on my face and a joyful shine in my eyes. It was how I spent a lot of my winter afternoons as a boy, reading an old book.

It is strange too that 50 years later that boy still lives inside of me. I still love comfortable chairs, warm stoves, old books, Snoopy, hugging dogs, and reading books on cold winter days. Yet, when I look in the mirror now all I see is thinning, graying hair, age spots, and lots of wrinkles.

Once in a while I look into my eyes in the mirror. They are hiding behind glasses now. They are set a little deeper in my eyes. The innocence (天真) in them has been replaced with wisdom. But they still have that same joyful shine.

Looking at the little boy smiling at me from the computer screen and that 56-year-old man looking back at me in the mirror can be a bit confusing at times. They seem so different. Still, they are both me.

The other day I walked along with my friends towards the cafeteria and outside, I could see a crowd made up mostly of girls. I couldn’t make out what was happening. We came closer and were able to see that a lady was cutting a girl’s hair. Beside there was a poster which encouraged people to donate about 10 inches of their hair in order to make wigs(假发) for patients who suffered from cancer and had lost all or most of their hair.

I was moved by the courage of those girls who were excitedly waiting their turn to get their hair cut. My friends sensed this and asked me if I was considering donating my hair. I told them I would like to but I was a little anxious about how I would end up looking. But finally, I made up my mind.

I asked one of my friends to braid(编) my hair and the rest of them started cheering me on so I would not back off. We went outside and I was now in line. It was finally my turn, so I walked towards the lady; she sat me down on a chair and didn’t even spend 30 seconds cutting my braid. More than half of my hair was put in a bag and I couldn’t hide my joy. I just couldn’t help but think about a person who would be happy with her new image. I knew I would never meet her, but I felt pleased with the act of kindness that I made that day.

A little girl, dressed as a dinosaur, provides interesting commentary (现场解说) while snowboarding in a cute video, which has become popular and is melting people’s hearts.

Robert Garlow of Yakima, Washington, shared the Instagram video last week featuring his daughter, 4-year-old Aubrin Sage, enjoying a wonderful snowboarding. Garlow said in his video that he decided to capture Aubrin’s commentary to catch a glimpse into her thought process while snowboarding.

Robert Garlow has been documenting his kids since their birth and he is always interested in trying to include their voices and thought process when they are hiking, playing, biking and so on. According to her dad, Aubrin has been snowboarding since 2018, when she was 18 months old. Snowboarding together has created some of their best memories as a family.

Garlow said he was making sure he was capturing as many special memories as he could on their winter adventures, even the ones he didn’t expect. Garlow, wrote that “My goal is to make every time out a positive experience so that she asks to come back. I want her love of snowboarding to come from within her, not applied by us.”

Snowboarding has taught Aubrin many lessons already, Garlow said, “She’s learned how to deal with adversity (逆境) whether that be bad weather, personal discomfort or frustration and maintain a positive attitude through it.” Garlow wrote, “She’s spent a lot of time outside in the mountains during the winter so not many situations in life trial her. She’s become brave and confident and capable of problem solving.”

He added, “She’s also an old soul, seemingly wise beyond her years. She’s always surprising us with her intelligence, thoughts and curiosity.”