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All you remember about your child being an infant is the incredible awe you felt about the precious miracle you created. You remember having plenty of time to bestow all your wisdom and knowledge. You thought your child would take all of your advice and make fewer mistakes, and be much smarter than you were. You wished for your child to hurry and grow up.

All you remember about your child being two is never using the restroom alone or getting to watch a movie without talking animals. You recall afternoons talking on the phone while crouching in the bedroom closet, and being convinced your child would be the first Ivy League1 college student to graduate wearing pullovers2 at the ceremony. You remember worrying about the bag of M＆M's melting in your pocket and ruining your good dress. You wished for your child to be more independent

All you remember about your child being five is the first day of school and finally having the house to yourself. You remember joining the PTA3 and being elected president when you left a meeting to use the restroom. You remember being asked“Is Santa real?”and saying“yes”because he had to be for a little bit longer. You remember shaking the sofa cushions for loose change4, so the toothfairy5 could come and take away your child's first lost tooth. You wished for your child to have all permanent teeth.

All you remember about your child being seven is the carpool6 schedule. You learned to apply makeup in two minutes and brush your teeth in the rearview mirror1 because the only time you had to yourself was when you were stopped at red lights. You considered painting your car yellow and posting a“taxi”sign on the lawn next to the garage door. You remember people staring at you, the few times you were out of the car, because you kept flexing2 your foot and making acceleration3 noises. You wished for the day your child would learn how to drive.

All you remember about your child being ten is managing the school fundraisers. You sold wrapping paper for paint, Tshirts for new furniture, and magazine sub**ions4 for shade trees in the school playground. You remember storing a hundred cases of candy bars in the garage to sell so the school band could get new uniforms, and how they melted together on an unseasonably5 warm spring afternoon. You wished your child would grow out of playing an instrument.

All you remember about your child being twelve is sitting in the stands6 during baseball practice and hoping your child's team would strike out7 fast because you had more important things to do at home. The coach didn't understand how busy you were. You wished the baseball season would be over soon.

All you remember about your child being four

teen is being asked not to stop the car in front of the school in the morning. You had to drive two blocks further and unlock the doors without coming to a complete stop. You remember not getting to kiss your child goodbye or talking to him in front of his friends. You wished your child would be more mature.

All you remember about your child being sixteen is loud music and undecipherable8 lyrics9 screamed to a rhythmic beat. You wished for your child to grow up and leave home with the stereo.

All you remember about your child being eighteen is the day they were born and having all the time in the world.

And, as you walk through your quiet house, you wonder where they wentand you wish your child hadn't grown up so fast.

by Debbie Farmer

It can be difficult to get through hot summers. The high temperatures can easily get on our nerves. There are many ways to seek a temporary relief, like eating cold food, staying in air conditioning, wearing relaxed clothing, and spending time in the water. But too much of these cool things can also bring discomfort. The following are some tips to keep healthy and cool in the summer:

Avoid eating too many cold foods

In the summer, the blood vessels beneath the skin expand so as to emit more heat inside the body to cool down. But when you eat too many cold things, blood vessels in the stomach and intestines contract, and even less blood flows into these organs, increasing the chances of stomach discomforts like stomachaches and diarrhea.

Tips:

1. Those suffering from acute or chronic gastritis or enteritis should not eat too much cold food, as they not only exacerbate the pain but also inhibits an appetite.

2. Avoid eating cold things after intense exercise, or immediately before and after meals. Don't eat cold and hot things together.

3. Eating too many cold things at once could dilute your gastric acid, which could affect your digestion.

4. Keep cold food in cool and sanitary conditions. E-coli can even survive when the temperature falls below zero Celsius. Make sure the cold food is fresh and clean before eating them.

Take care sitting in an air-conditioned room.

The air in an air-conditioned room often doesn't have enough negative ions, which makes it easy for one to get tired, difficult to concentrate and hard to work efficiently. Low temperatures can also easily lead to backache, arthralgia, or pain in the joint and dry throat.

To avoid these discomforts, pay attention to the following tips.

1. Decrease the difference between the outdoor temperature and indoor temperature. Try not to sit directly under the air conditioner.

2. If you sit in an air-conditioned room all day long, wear a jacket. You can also cover your knees with a blanket and get up to take a walk every other hour to keep your blood circulating.

3. Keep the office windows open to let fresh air in to cut down on the growth of harmful microbes.

4. Do some outdoor exercises everyday to increase blood circulation in your body. This will also help your body adapt to the temperature differences between indoors and outdoors.

5. Have a proper diet. Increase your intake of ginger and pepper, which stimulate your appetite and prevents you from catching a cold.
Stay out from the sun as much as possible.

Those who have light-sensitive skin need to take particular precautions against too much sunshine if they want to avoid getting skin redness, swollen or water blisters. And too much sweat may also affect other skin types.

To help you get through summer sunshine, pay attention to the following tips:

1. Try to avoid direct contact with the sun's rays. Take an umbrella with you and wear sunglasses.

2. Take more vitamins to help increase your skin's ability to withstand the sun. Those who have light-sensitive skin should also avoid eating light-sensitive foods, such as caraway seeds, leek, white turnip as well as soy sauce.

3. To keep cool, avoid putting on tight clothes. Wear thin, loose, soft, light-colored and breathable clothes. If you stay outdoors most of the time, then have clothes that cover most of your body.

4. Keep your skin clean. Exfoliate your skin and take showers or baths to keep cool.

Tips for swimming.

Those who swim outdoors will enjoy the cool breeze and fresh air, but it also put their skin in a vulnerable situation. Always remember to apply sunscreen that is over SPF 30 and waterproof.

Make sure the water you're swimming in is clean, as dirty water can lead to contracting conjunctivitis and dermatitis.

To stay away from these discomforts, you need to pay attention to the following tips.

1. Apply some eye drops before diving into the water to avoid getting conjunctivitis. Apply counter- chlorine cream to your body if you are swimming in a man-made pool. It helps prevent the chlorine from drying out your skin.
2. After a swim, take a shower to get as clean as possible, and wash your hair. Use a shower gel especially made for swimming which helps get rid of the chlorine smell.

3. Women should not swim when they have their period.

4. How to cool your skin down from too much sun exposure:

Soak a cotton make-up pad in a moisturizing lotion and then put it in the refrigerator to cool it for five minutes. Take it out and then use it to pat the red and burning areas on the skin. This will calm the redness and soothe the swollen skin.

Soak cucumber slices in milk and put them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Apply the slices to your face to help the skin cool down.

When the skin is burnt and dries into a hard layer, don't scratch it off. Instead, keep this area moisturized and eventually the dead skin will fall off.

Eat more roughage;

Do more than others expect you to do and do it pains;

Remember what life tells you;

Don’t take to heart every thing you hear. Don’t spend all that you have. Don’t sleep as long as you want;

Whenever you say” I love you”, please say it honestly;

Whenever you say” I’m sorry”, please look into the other person’s eyes;

Fall in love at first sight;

Don’t neglect dreams;

Love deeply and ardently, even if there is pain, but this is the way to make your life complete;

Find a way to settle, not to dispute;

Never judge people by their appearance;

Speak slowly, but think quickly;

When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and say, “Why do you want to know?”

Remember that the man who can shoulder the most risk will gain the deepest love and the supreme accomplishment;

Call you mother on the phone. If you can’t, you may think of her in your heart;

When someone sneezes say, “God bless you”;

If you fail, don’t forget to learn your lesson;

Remember the three “ respects” .Respect yourself, respect others, stand on dignity and pay attention to your behavior;

Don’t let a little dispute break up a great friendship;

Whenever you find your wrongdoing, be quick with reparation!

Whenever you make a phone call smile when you pick up the phone, because someone can feel it!

Marry a person who likes talking; because when you get old, you’ll find that chatting to be a great advantage;

Find time for yourself.

Life will change what you are but not who you are;

Remember that silence is golden;

Read more books and watch less television;

Live a noble and honest life. Reviving past times in your old age will help you to enjoy your life again;

Trust God, but don’t forget to lock the door;

The harmonizing atmosphere of a family is valuable;

Try your best to let family harmony flow smoothly;

When you quarrel with a close friend, talk about the main dish, don’t quibble over the appetizers;

You cannot hold onto yesterday;

Figure out the meaning of someone’s words;

Share your knowledge to continue a timeless tradition;

Treat our earth in a friendly way,don’t fool around with mother nature;

Do the thing you should do;

Don’t trust a lover who kisses you without closing their eyes;

Go to a place you’ve never been to every year.

If you earn much money,the best way to spend it is on charitable deeds while you are alive;

Remember,not all the best harvest is luck;

Understand rules completely and change them reasonably;

Remember,the best love is to love others unconditionally rather than make demands on them;

Comment on the success you have attained by looking in the past at the target you wanted to achieve most;

In love and cooking,you must give 100％ effort……but expect little appreciation;