When we do something, we all have our own plans. Some people are born planners. I can't claim (宣称) to be one of that kind of people. Most of the time, I try to at least expect what might go wrong. I have taken to making lists and, although I'm not yet achieving perfection, I usually manage to achieve goals. But there are times when even the best plans do not succeed. All that is left then is to smile and to make or do something using whatever is found.

Hanukkah (光明节) came early this year, perhaps too soon after Thanksgiving to allow us to prepare well. During the first night of Hanukkah, the Hanukkah candles were nowhere to be found in the entire Dallas area where we lived. Birthday candles wouldn't work! The tall long thin candle fell in small drops. "What would our ancestors do?" I thought. "What shall I do now? That's where ingenuity comes from. Don't be nervous and worried. Never let missing candles spoil a family celebration." Later what we did find was a bag of tea lights. The long, silver bread tray became the base for our tea lights. The younger ones were wide-eyed and happy as Grandpa lit the first tea light and all recited the blessing. We sat at the dining table, happy to be together and the food was plentiful.

    No matter how imperfect it is, the fact that families gather to share a special event, an event that has held meaning for so many generations of families, is the meaning itself and forms the important part of the observance (仪式). What we need to remember, and to carry with us, is the knowledge that togetherness is much better than all other concerns.

    Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacked other plants. Except for its flower, the plant looks like spaghetti, a kind of noodles in the shape of long thin pieces that look like string when they are cooked. It's almost leafless, thread-like stems hang down on top of other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals food from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant which is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it.

    Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a young dodder plant starts growing, it follows the smell of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops. Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato smell-if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

    However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. It no longer needs its root once it is attached to the host and wrapped around it. If it cannot catch a smell of potential host within a few days, it will dry up and vanish even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point the dodder plant will drop its root.

    Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer's harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, especially farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have mixed with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from making their way to a crop field secretly.

    Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick, first female Indy competitor and winner

    No complaints about woman drivers. Janet Guthrie, an space engineer who was training to be an astronaut, turned to car racing when she was cut from the space program for not having completed her doctors degree. In 1977, Guthrie became the first female Indy 500 competitor. She didn't take the lead, but Danica Patrick did. In 2005 and in 2008, Patrick became the first woman ever to win an Indy Car Series.

    Raymonde de Laroche, first female licensed pilot

    A former actress who'd been born Elise Raymonde Deroche in Paris in 1882, Raymonde de Laroche was inspired to take up flying after seeing the Wright Brothers flight demonstrations in 1907 in France. Though she wasn't the first female pilot, de Laroche was the first woman to earn a pilot's license in 1910.

    Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim across the English Channel

    On August 6. 1926. Gertrude Caroline Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Ederle, who lived to be 98 and died in 2003, was also an Olympic swim champion and five-time world record-holder in five swimming events

    Kathrine Switzer, Nina Kuscik and Joan Benoit, first major female marathoners.

    In 1967, 20-year-old Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon, even though race officials had tried to stop her. Nina Kuscik became the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon, 1972. In 1984, American Joan Benoit became the first winner of the Women's Olympic Marathon, finishing 400 meters ahead of Norway's Grete Waitz.

    There are excellent reasons for anyone to seek out the optimistic. Optimists experience better health outcomes, live longer and are more satisfied with their relationships. Optimism enables people to hold on in the face of difficulty, while pessimism leaves them depressed and even expecting failure.

    I want that hopeful, optimistic outlook for my children. But many times we may feel pessimistic. The result of negativity makes me worry that my kids' future will be uncertain. Fortunately, research suggests ways to help our children grow up with an optimistic attitude and maintain a happier outlook ourselves.

    Humanity has improved by many measures, but that success has become the water in which we swim, and like fish, we take the water for granted. While we fail to notice the positive, our brains naturally emphasize on the negative. With practice, we can help our brains to give the good stuff equal weight. Dr. Hanson's advice: when you hear a great story or achieve something in your own life, deliberately rest your mind on that experience and stay with it. Sink into that feeling as it sinks into you. Describe what you're doing to your kids, and encourage them to dwell on their joys and pleasures as well.

    Following the "big scary" news can leave us feeling helpless. Find something in your area that makes you feel hopeful, and make it a part of your family life. Researchers found that when people with a pessimistic outlook use positive language to describe situations they find upsetting, their feelings about the situation become more positive. That's something we can try at home.

    Raising optimistic kids is hard because it demands that parents abandon the pessimistic perspective that's the easiest response to pessimistic times. Put your energy into making sure you and your family are a part of the world around you. That might mean simply joining and being part of local clubs that feed our natural human need for connection (not of the digital kind).

    Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, and then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.

    "An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny."

    Johnny is a hacker(黑客). Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem（调制调解器）, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer account and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.

Last year, I baked biscuits for complete strangers to say "thank you". I'd had to call 999 because I found my husband unconscious on the floor. Within minutes, a police car arrived and soon my husband received medical care in hospital.

A week later, when I dropped off still-warm biscuits and presented a thank-you note at the police station, the policemen thanked me for delivering gifts.

I drove away feeling light and happy. Later, I realized that my natural high might have been more than it seemed. Research has shown that sharing gratitude has positive effects on health. People who express gratitude will increase their happiness levels, lower their blood pressure and get better sleep.

What about people who receive gratitude? Research has confirmed that when people receive thanks, they experience positive emotions. "Those are happy surprises," says Jo-Ann Tsang, a professor of psychology. When someone is thanked, he's more likely to return the favouror pass kindness on, and his chances of being helpful again doubles, probably because he enjoys feeling socially valued.

The give-and-take of gratitude also deepens relationships. Studies show that when your loved ones regularly express gratitude, making you feel appreciated, you're more likely to return appreciative feelings, which leads to more satisfactory in your relationships.

Nowadays, however, many people don't express gratitude. Our modern lifestyle may be to blame. With commercial and social media, everything is speeding the younger generation to feel they're the centre of the world. If it's all about them, why thank others?

Why not thank others? Just take a look at how many positive effects can saying "thank you" have on personal health—and the well-being of others.

If you aren't particularly grateful, I strongly suggest you learn to be. People who are instructed to keep gratitude journals, in which they write down positive things that happen to them, cultivate（培养） gratitude over time.