Manner

Minda, obviously, knows something called "manner".
"Minkai, when we get home, can you hold this part? I will put tape around it." She was planing to fix the broken batman airplane in the car with Minkai.

However, Minda often speaks in demanding language, "Give me a cup."
If we ask her to say in a polite way, she will scream into our ears, "Please!!!"

Chatting in the Night

Minkai and Minda love to chat with each other. They especially cannot stop talking once they are in bed! I cannot image how many things they could share with each other. Although they are in the same daycare and same classroom, they are in different groups with different teachers. They would come up with ideas to play, to tease others, and to make games.

Unfortunately, after a night's long talk, Minda usually is very tired in the morning. She would demand Minkai to bring clothes to her, whining, and jumping. What's more, she may have an accident at nap time!

Amy - Forever 11

Amy was born in the summer of 1997. She used to be a chubby baby. When I saw her for the first time, she was one year old and enjoying her yogurt. I always think that all chubby babies look alike, so she was a usual happy and sweet girl.

I remembered her three-year-old birthday party. She lost some baby fat, and Katie, the one year old, was the chubby baby. We left earlier that day because Katie threw up. Katie had two seizures the next day. It marked the scariest moment for my motherhood.

We also went to Amy's four-year-old party, her five-year-old party, the little girl grew up.

When Amy got older, she demonstrated her talents in many aspects. Her posture in dance was graceful. Her coordination was excellent. Her back flips were connected amazingly well. She accelerated in dance, piano, drawing, and other activities. She was popular. She was active. She was a star student.

More importantly, she was a nice and caring girl. She was Katie's best friend. Katie, when she five years old, did not know how to compromise. So Katie's friends had to be someone as nice as Amy :-)

When we went to Door County together in summer 2006, Amy and Katie looked like twins. They were about the same height and same size, with long hair. They did everything together. Amy was also very protective to her brother, Michael. When her father disciplined Michael, he would run to Amy for protection. Amy would hug him and protect him.

Katie and Amy always asked for sleepovers. They would try to hide or pretend to be asleep. Amy had a couple of sleepovers at my house. When they finally got a chance to sleepover at Amy's house on her ten-year-old birthday, Amy was sick and sent to the hospital.

After discovering the brain tumor, Amy went through many many treatments. She was always cooperative. She could lay still for the entire MRI; she could remember and take tens of medication and nutrition per day; she could not eat her favorite food, cake or ice cream; she would eat the saltless steamed vegetable every meal; she never complained. She shared with me her experience of getting stitches on her head without anesthesia, - she counted the stitches with the doctor.

Life had been very hard for Amy. She chose to smile, be positive, and be active. She would finish all her homework. She was still the top student. She would go to school whenever she could. She prepared a Mother's Day breakfast with a heart-shape bread, granola with yogurt, for her Mom. She also prepared a drawing together with Katie for Father's Day. Amy and her family had several vacations with surgeries and treatments in those twenty-one months: Boston, New York, North Carolina, Argentina, and El Salvador. Amy enjoyed the happiness with her family and her friends. Amy kept her smiles.

However, she probably knew more than what she was told. One day when she was asking me for something, I saw the deep sadness in her eyes. When her body was uncontrollably shaking and weak, she had a lot of questions in her eyes. She did not ask anything, which I believe that is because she did not want her parents to be more sad.

After Amy could not talk, she smiled to Katie when Katie visited her. Katie was no longer scared of looking at her changed face (because of the steroid) and body, because Amy is her friend.

Amy had surprised everyone for her strong will to live. She had five brain surgeries. Every time, her recovery was amazingly quick. She, and her parents, fight with her cancer until the end.

Life is precious. Life is hard. Attitude is the best decision we can make. Be postive. Be happy. Do not complain.

Dealing with Frustrations

Katie was not longer lucky for her competitions :-) She was placed 5th for both freestyle program and compulsory in Eau Claire. She was very disappointed for the first one, because she believed that she had powerful jumps and stability, and finished on time. I told her that she should watch the recorded program later and had more feeling on what could be missing from her program.

Good sportsmanship, knowing how to learn and improve, and hard work is what I want her to learn through her favorite sport.

Important Annoucement - Friday ...

I went to pick up Minkai and Minda from Little Gym in the afternoon.

Macy's mother told me, "Minkai said that he would not be in Paidea on Friday, as Katie is having a competition in Eau Claire."

"Yes." I was a little bit surprised and wondered Minkai told this to Macy or her Mom.

So I asked Minkai on the dinner table.

"I told everyone in Paidea, Tammi (teacher), Jean, Jack, Cole, Macy, ..." Minkai said.

Wow, it is an important annoucement.