It has been several weeks since we tookour daughter to college and she seems to be adjusting  well after a short period of homesickness.For us, though, it's another story. Like most parents, I love checking in on mychildren at night. But now she's gone, and I find nighttimes the hardest. Imiss her most at night.

    In my neighborhood, most of the parentswhose kids are off to college are dealing with similar melancholy. Myhusband is filled with anxiety. One friend talked about getting this sickfeeling in her stomach as she prepared for the college drop-off. We complainedthat many of us were too busy to truly enjoy being with our children while wehad them.

    For us moms, seeing Toy Story 3 onlymade the sadness worse as we watched the character Andy, who is the same age asour kids, say goodbye to his childhood as he prepares to leave for college. Andit's not just “first-time” parents like me. Two moms who have kids already wellinto college said the separation didn't get any easier. “You feel likesomething has been taken away from inside you,” said one of them.

    I imagine things will get easier withtime, especially as I see my daughter adjust to college life. Meanwhile, as Ikeep my cell phone close to me in bed and text my daughter goodnight and sweetdreams every night, I like to think at messages serve as a night light thatkeeps her safe.

    When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.

    When Doctor Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He believed in the principle “No pain, no gain”. He hardly watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional(传统的) wisdom. Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said you had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water. So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he'd beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.

    Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some twenty five years ago. They were all tall and strong.

    I planted a couple of trees myself a few years ago. Two years of attending these trees meant they grew up weak. Whenever a cold wind blew, their branches trembled. Adversity(逆境) seemed to benefit Doctor Gibb's trees in ways comfort and ease never could.

    Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to meet with hardship. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won't be torn apart.

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    Every people uses its own special word to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions（表达，说法） are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where's the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where's the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone using it at the time.

    Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald's”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America.

    Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company called “Wendy's” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald's or anyone else. The Wendy's Company began to use the expression “Where's the beef?” to make people know that Wendy's hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy's television advertisement showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where's the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy's hamburger restaurants was success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where's the beef?”.

    Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bird, which was very curious about hell. When she was little, her mother always told her that if she didn't master the flying skills, she would go to hell. She was so curious about hell that she always asked others what hell looked like, but no one was sure, because none of them had ever been there. Some said hell was a place full of water, and others told her that hell was full of burning fire. However, the bird knew they were lying. She wanted to find out what hell was.

    When other birds were learning flying skills, she always hid herself and watched them. She thought in this way she could go to hell and see what hell looked like. However, she spent so little time learning flying skills that one day she was caught by a little boy. The little boy gave her to his grandpa in the countryside as a gift. The old man liked her very much. He made a delicate cage and put her in it. The bird was very worried because she thought she couldn't find out what hell was like staying in this small cage. However, she couldn't escape. Day after day, she just stayed in the cage, watching other birds flying. She lost her freedom and she became sadder and sadder. At last, she became ill. The old man finally opened the cage, but she was too weak to fly. Lying on the ground, she thought of the question that she ever asked all the time.

    “What does hell look like?”

    “Hell is a small well-decorated cage.” Before she closed her eyes forever, she finally answered that question herself.

    Everyone knows about New York City's most popular attractions, but here are some activities you might not think about doing on your NYC( New York City) vacation. Surprise yourself with some great things to do in New York City.

    Looking for something thrilling to do while you visit New York City? For over ten years, Trapeze school New York has been teaching people how to fly on the trapeze. Their beginner classes last two hours and cost $50-70, plus one-time $22 registration fee. From April to October, their outdoor location on the Hudson River offers a spectacular setting for the experience, but they also have an indoor location that is open year-round.

    Learn to Surf

    Rockaway Beach is a popular destination for East Coast surfers, but even if you've never surfed, there are plenty of folks happy to teach you at Rockaway Beach. Locals Surf School offers two-hour group lessons starting at $80, including all the vehicles you need. Frank from Rockaway Beach also offers surfing lessons.

    Get Kissed by a Sea Lion

    Sign up for a Sea Lion Encounter at the New York Aquarium, and you'll have the chance to get to get up close and personal with the Sea Lions after the show. After a short orientation, participants will each get a chance to pose for a photo and get a kiss from a sea lion. Sea Lion Encounters cost $20 and are offered after Sea Lion Celebration shows. Participants must be at least 5 years old, and those who're 5-7 years old must be held by their parents/caregivers during any animal interaction (互动).

    Experience Fall Leaves

    Although New York City doesn't have as many colorful leaves as New England, there are still some great ways to enjoy the changing leaves during a fall visit to New York City, both in the city and beyond. Whether you want to walk around one of New York City's great parks or take a fall leaves sightseeing cruise up the Hudson River, you can get a taste of the beautiful fall colors when you visit New York City.

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    These days, people who do manual (体力的) work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers" for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the honor of becoming white-collar workers. This can lead to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.

    When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls (工作服) and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status (身份；地位) is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him 'Mr. Bloggs', not 'Alf'.