Recently, I’ve found many old photos of Mom, Dad, David, me and my first dog Coco. They meant a lot to me. I wondered how to keep them forever. Luckily, my son used a new app to clear up and improve some of the old photos. Looking at them brought back so many loving and happy memories. I even used one as my computer screen saver (屏保).

It is a picture of me sitting in my favorite chair, across from the wood stove (炉子) next to a bookcase full of old books. I am wearing my special Snoopy shirt and hugging Coco. There is a big smile on my face and a joyful shining light in my eyes. It was how I spent a lot of my winter afternoons as a girl, hugging Coco and reading an old book.

It is surprising how 60 years later that girl still lives inside of me. I still love comfortable chairs, warm stoves, Snoopy clothes, hugging dogs and reading books on cold winter days. But when I look in the mirror now, all I see is a thin face, grey hair, and lots of wrinkles (皱纹). The only thing that hasn’t completely changed is the eyes. They are hiding behind glasses now and full of wisdom (智慧) given by ages. But they still have that same joyful shining light.

Looking at the little girl smiling at me from the computer screen and that 66-year-old woman looking back at me in the mirror can be a little bit strange at times. They look so different. However, they are both me. We can’t stop getting older, but we can remain both joyful and young at heart forever.

When people hear the word stress（压力）, they usually think of something bad. 【小题1】

To begin with, people may feel stressed when there is something important to do. For example, some students are stressed before a big test. 【小题2】 This type of stress can help people work efficiently(高效地) to meet their goals. 【小题3】 Scientists who study stress learned a little stress can make the immune system(免疫系统) stronger. When your body learns to respond to（响应） some stress, it’s able to protect you better from illness. The final way that stress benefits us is by helping us respond to danger. 【小题4】This stress sends a message to warn your brain of danger, allowing your body to respond quickly. You may not be able to jump out of the car’ s way soon enough without the stress. 【小题5】 But the right amount of stress makes us more efficient, healthier and safer.

It was raining heavily. I had to wait in the supermarket like a lot of other people did. A little girl and her mother were waiting, too. The girl looked like 5 or 6 years old. She made me think of my daughter Alice. They are about the same age.

After a few minutes, the girl got tired and she said to her mom, “Mom, let`s run through the rain!”

“No, Dear. We’ll wait until it slows down (减缓) a little,” said Mom.

This young child waited about one more minute and said again, “Mom, let’s run through the rain!”

“We’ll get wet if we do,” her mom said.

“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said.

“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don`t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, “We have got through this, and then we will get through anything!”

All of the people stopped talking. It was a time when innocent trust (纯真的信任) could grow into faith (信心). The mom thought for a minute and said,

“You are right, Dear. Let’s run through the rain! If we get wet, we just need washing.” Then they ran out.

They got wet. But some people followed them.      ▲       And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.