I noticed a dad and his son at the park. His son wasn’t able to communicate, but he seemed content sitting in the sand. The dad explained to me that his son could only make some sounds. The boy had been in speech therapy (言语治疗) for years. After so much time in therapy, the boy was able to maintain eye contact for a few seconds and the father was delighted by the achievement! He told me how expensive the therapies for his son’s specific needs were and what a pleasure it was to see all of the years of hard work paid off. The father and son connected, and those few seconds of eye contact meant the world to that dad!

As we talked about therapy, the dad shared with me that his goal for his boy was to someday be able to go for ice cream together. He said his father used to take him out for ice cream and he hoped he could do the same with his child. Suddenly, the son stopped putting his fingers in the sand, looked at his father and said, “Hi.” Seconds later the boy went back into his own world. The dad wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. His love for this boy was so great that the words would not come. But what did come were tears. Those tears conveyed (传达) how proud he was of his son. A father loves his child more than words will ever be able to express.

Although they were strangers to me, I am honored to have shared this precious celebration of accomplishment in that boy’s young life. I hope someday they will be able to go for ice cream and have a beautiful father and son outing.

This event touched me deeply and made me consider my relationship with my own father. I hope that as they communicate further, more and more memories will be created for them to share. I am convinced the feelings held by all awesome fathers —their hard work, their love, their pride, and their tears of love—are all the same.

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her thoughts with a classroom of students.

As the late afternoon sunlight came in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection (沉思) on her face, she said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that has nothing to do with our class today, but I think it is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love and enjoy. None                    of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.”

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on: “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent— perhaps of newly baked bread coming out of someone’s kitchen, or it could be the sound of the soft wind slightly touching the leaves in the trees ...”

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and went out of the room one by one silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had in a whole term.

Take notice of something special on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot (赤脚) or walk on the beach at sunset. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do.