It was the day after Halloween when my grandmother was admitted to the hospital with the worst headache she'd ever had. While posing in our costumes the night before, we knew something was wrong, just not how wrong.

    Grandma's house was the central gathering place of my family. Sunday lunches, birthday dinners, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas — all were our traditions, with her as hostess. While my parents were busy running their small business, there were many nights when Grandma fed me and put me to bed in her spare room, until they came to get me. I spent my summers at Grandma's and I went everywhere with her. I couldn't imagine a time when she wouldn't be around me.

    Then November 1,1991 began her month-long stay in the hospital—she suffered from a rare infection (感染)called nocardia asteroides. After being born in the year of the Great Depression, living through World War II, raising three kids, and being widowed at the age of 48, Grandma never expected to live into her seventies. The infection in her brain seemed to confirm that she wasn't long for this world. But that's not the end of her story. A team of doctors successfully removed the abscess(脓肿), and Grandma even made it into a local medical journal. Her doctor called her “the brain lady”.

    Grandma celebrated her 85^th birthday in March this year. In the almost 23 years since her recovery, she's seen two of her four grandchildren get married and welcomed three great-grandsons. Although they damage something in her house, she loves it when my two boys come over. And while I know they make her day, seeing her love blossom for another generation makes my day too. Happy Grandparents' Day to my amazing grandmother!

    Whatever life threw at us each year, our family had one tradition at Christmas: our dog Pepper opened our presents for us.

    Last year, everyone made it home for a Christmas get-together. However, it couldn't feel perfect because Pepper's health was becoming worse. Her life had already been longer than we expected-she was fourteen-and yet her mind was still sharp. Her love for life made us feel better. But her body could not keep up with her mind.

    Probably it was Pepper's last Christmas, so we decided to make sure she would enjoy it. On Christmas Eve, we each prepared presents for her.

    Soon, Pepper selected her first Christmas gift. She turned the present, just as she was a young dog once more. She pulled the paper off the dog treat before she chewed (咀嚼) it slowly. Our family was so happy.

    Pepper saw the remaining three presents, and then turned to Mom as if asking, “May I open another?”

    “Go ahead, girl!” Mom encouraged.

    For the next few minutes, Pepper opened each of her Christmas presents. While she did, she reminded us of the joy of being together. Our family felt as a whole-not because we were in the same room or city, but because our love brought us together.

    Pepper passed away after Christmas. Her peaceful passing made us tearful. Her passing was also a celebration of life, because she gave my family so much love and laughter.

    I still treasure Pepper's final Christmas gift. She taught me that no matter where we each spend the holidays, the smallest act of sincere giving can unite our family through our love. For me, that knowledge is the longest-lasting gift of all.

Assistant Professor in Musical Theatre Dance

    Wichita State University seeks a full-time, 9-month assistant professor, beginning in August. Applicants are required to have a degree in dance area, teaching experience at a professional or college level, ability to direct and teach stage movement. The salary depends on qualifications and experience.

     For complete information, visit http://finearts. wichita. edu

    Full Professor in Theatre and Dance

    The Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of California at San Diego(http://www theatre. uscd. edu) is seeking an experienced theatre artist in lighting design. Applicants must work for us for at least one year. Significant professional experience is required. This position is expected to teach at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

     A review of applications will start on June 1st. Application deadline: September 1st.

    Technical Director in Performing and Fine Arts

    DeSales University's Performing and Fine Arts Department seeks a highly skilled, professional technical director. The position is a 10-month staff position with the possibility of summer employment with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Professional experience is required; MFA is preferred.

    Please email materials to john.bell@desales.edu. Screening of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

    Assistant Director—Media Resources Center

    Maryland Institute College of Art is seeking an Assistant Director of Media Resources Center in the Academic Affairs Division.

    Qualification for the position include a degree in Art History or related fields with knowledge of art and design history, library experience, excellent interpersonal communications skills and familiarity with photoshop and scanning.

    A review of applications will begin immediately; job announcements will remain open until the position is filled. Applicants are required to work for us at send emails to iobs@mica.edu. The salary differs depending on your experience. Please include your desired salary in your application letter.

    People all need friends because nobody wants to be lonely and a friend can help you in good and bad times. You have made friends since childhood, but you still don't know who your true friends are. Here are some signs to tell you if your friend is a true friend:

Always honest

    Honesty is important to keep a relationship alive. A true friend always tells you the truth. It may be hard sometimes but lying can destroy a friendship. It is important that your friend speaks honestly and never makes up stories.

    There are always periods in your life when you have problems or difficulties. A true friend will always have time to listen to your problems and give advice. It may not be able to offer a solution to your problems but the fact that your friend made time to listen is a sign he/she cares for you. Your friend is not a true friend if he/she can never make time for you when you are in trouble. You also need to be reasonable and accept that your friend also has other things to do so he/she can't always listen immediately to your problems.

Always respectful (尊敬的)

    A true friend will always respect your opinion no matter whether he/she agrees or not. Your true friend may disagree but never insists that he/she is correct.

Always understanding

    It is possible that some problems will arise between you and your friend. A true friend will always be forgiving (体谅的) and understanding even if it isn't his/her fault. We are all different people and we all make mistakes. A true friend is always forgiving and understanding because he/she doesn't want to take the risk of losing his/her best friend.

    At 88, my grandmother Vera has dementia and barely recognizes me. But I'm determined to help her age with dignity and grace in her home for as long as she can.

    Since 2015, I've been a manager at Honor, a technology company that uses a website and an app to pair professional caregivers (we call them Care Pros) with loved ones who need a hand. I want to make sure we are offering all our clients (客户), including my grandmother, a service that is affordable, with people who are reliable, diverse and skilled. On Sundays. Amy, my grandmother's most-loved Honor professional caregiver, comes over to get her dressed for church. She loves the time she spends with Amy. That's the best gift I can give her and the best gift I can give myself. Care giving can exhaust a family emotionally and physically. At Honor, we're trying to create something that makes it easier for women to be moms, daughters, and sisters all at once. That's why this company was built.

    What sets Honor apart from other care giving services is that we're equally focused on treating the Care Pros well. We pay higher-than-average rates and they can get health benefits and sick leave. Most of our Care Pros are women, and a lot of them arc single mothers. The technology behind our app allows Care Pros to set parameters (参数) based on when, where, and how much they want to work so they can control their schedules. The company also allows continuity of care. Each Care Pro notes in the caregivers' app how the client is feeling or what should happen on the following shift. That way, the client's family can stay up to date on their loved one's health.

    When I was working with my team at Honor, I wanted to create opportunities for people who looked like me. I'm proud to say that there are single moms and other women without traditional educational training who lead teams here. The makeup of this company proves that people with diverse backgrounds can be part of a successful tech company. This has to be a model for the future.

    I'm confident it will happen.

    Some of the best research on daily experience is rooted in rates of positive and negative interactions, which has proved that being blindly positive or negative can cause others to be frustrated or annoyed or to simply tune out.

    Over the last two decades, scientists have made remarkable predictions simply by watching people interact with one another and then scoring the conversations based on the rate of positive and negative interactions. Researchers have used the findings to predict everything from the likelihood that a couple will divorce to the chances of a work team with high customer satisfaction and productivity levels.

More recent research helps explain why these brief exchanges matter so much. When you experience negative emotions as a result of criticism or rejection, for example, your body produces higher levels of the stress hormone, which shuts down much of your thinking and activates(激活) conflict and defense mechanisms(机制). You assume that situations are worse than they actually are.

    When you experience a positive interaction, it activates a very different response. Positive exchanges increase your body's production of oxytocin, a feel-good that increases your ability to communicate with, cooperate with and trust others. But the effects of a positive occurrence are less dramatic and lasting than they are for a negative one.

    We need at least three to five positive interactions to outweigh every one negative exchange. Bad moments simply outweigh good ones. Whether you're having a conversation, keep this simple short cut in mind: At least 80 percent of your conversations should be focused on what's going right.

    Workplaces, for example, often see this. During performance reviews, managers routinely spend 80 percent of their time on weaknesses and "areas for improvement". They spend roughly 20 percent of the time on strengths and positive aspects. Any time you have discussions with a person or group, spend the vast majority of the time talking about what is working, and use the remaining time to address weaknesses.