Several times my daughter had phoned me to see the daffodils（水仙花）before they were over. I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. I promised, a little unwillingly（不情愿地）, on her third call. The next Tuesday was cold and rainy. Still I drove there as I promised. When. I finally walked into Sally's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, " Forget the daffodils, Sally. The road is invisible in the cloud and fog（雾）." My daughter smiled calmly and said I would regret if I missed the experience.

After about twenty minutes, we turned into a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read "Daffodil Garden"! We got out of the car and I followed Sally down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres（公顷）of flowers!

"But who has done this?" I asked. "It`s just one woman," Sally answered. She pointed to a well-kept house which the woman lived in. We walked up to the house. On the patio（露台）, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was, "50,000 bulbs （鳞茎）". The second answer was," One at a time, by one woman." The third answer was," Began in 1958."

I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun one bulb at a time to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.

Do you often compare（比较）yourself with other people and wish you could be more like them? We are all different in our own way. Self-acceptance can help you feel happier and better about yourself.

What is self-acceptance?

Self-acceptance means learning to accept（接受）the things that make you who you are. And being thankful for what you’re good at, like sports, science or singing. Self-acceptance also means valuing（重视）the parts of you that don’t shine very brightly, like being forgetful or untidy. A 12-year-old girl, Lily, says self-acceptance means “knowing your own weaknesses and strengths（强项）, and accepting who you are no matter what other people say or think.”

Why is self-acceptance good for you?

When you accept who you are, you worry less about things you can’t change. It makes you feel happier and more confident. The Anna Freud Centre, a charity that helps young people, says everyone can feel that they have to be perfect（完美的）, but that makes us forget about the little things that make us special. ▲ For example, some people may find letters or numbers hard to read, but they might have strengths in other things, like finding good ways to work out problems.

How can you accept yourself?

Start by making a list of all the things you like about yourself. Maybe you’re good at cooking, or people find it easy to talk to you. Also, try saying kind, happy things to yourself in a mirror every morning. Think up ways to treat yourself, such as taking a long shower, watching your favorite film, or eating delicious ice-cream. But don’t forget it’s important to eat healthy food and get enough sleep.

One day, when a tired father got home after long hours of work, he found his son awake. The father got angry at his son. But the son told him he wanted something from the father.

Still angry, the father asked, “What do you want from me at this hour of the night?”

“Please lend me twenty dollars.” was the son’s reply.

The father was frustrated(沮丧的) because of his son’s request for the money. He told him to forget about pocket money and go to bed straight away. The boy was disappointed and went to sleep.

The father thought the son didn’t know how difficult it is to make money. He went to his son and asked him about how he decided to spend the money. The boy took out a few notes, and told his father that he had saved eighty dollars from his pocket money, and only needed another twenty dollars, so he can pay for one hour of his father’s time.

Indeed, time is the best gift we give to our relations. Don’t miss the time you spend with families.