I'm glad to share my experience of being a volunteer teacher for the Rural Education Support Project.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

Li Hua

   This is my son Matthew's last night at home before college. I know that this is good news. I feel proud that Matthew will go to a great school. I know that this is his finest hour. But looking at the suitcases on his bed sends me out of the room to a hidden corner where I can't stop crying.

Through the sorrow，I feel rising embarrassment. "Pull yourself together！"I tell myself. There are parents sending their kids off to battle zones. How dare I feel so shattered（感到震惊难过的）？

One of the great gifts of my life has been having my boys，Matthew and Johnowen. Through them，I have explored the mysterious and complicated（复杂的）bond between fathers and sons. As my wife and I raised them，I have discovered the love and loss between my father and me. After my parents' divorce，I spent weekends with my dad in Ohio. By the time Sunday rolled around，I was unable to enjoy the day's activities because I was already afraid of the goodbye of the evening.

Now，standing among Matthew's belongings，I realize it's me who has become a boy again. All my sadness and longing to hold on to things are back，sweeping over me as they did when I was a child.

His bed is tidy. It already has the feel of a guest bed. In my mind I replay the scene that I wrapped him in his favorite blanket. That was our nightly routine until one evening he said，"Daddy，I don't think I need a blanket tonight." I think of all the times when we lay among the covers reading. I look at the bed and think of all the recent times when I was annoyed at how late he was sleeping. I realize I'll never have to worry about that again.

For his part, Matthew has been a rock. He is treating his leaving as just another day at the office. And I'm glad. After all, someone's got to be strong. I'm proud that he is charging into the first chapter of his adult life with such confidence.

   It was Christmas evening. I just _______ home from the nearby grocery store with all kinds of things. The kitchen was _______ with brown bags and boxes. On seeing me coming back, my youngest son, Isaiah, reached me and _______ if I would play a game with him.

I took Isaiah's _______ . He stood there and his green eyes were _______ . “Here is a Christmas _______   for you. Please find it. You can look for something silver. ” he said. I began to do it. I _______ the table in the corner and some other places.

After a few seconds, I saw there was a _______ snow globe on the top of the piano. It was silvery and beautiful. I held the cool _______ in my hands. Isaiah said to me that it was to ________ the one that he had broken the year before. I was puzzled completely. So I bent(弯曲) my ________ beside him. He added how he ________ enough money and asked his elder brother,Logan, to help him buy this one to ________ the broken one. They just wanted to give me a (n) ________ .

Logan nodded and smiled. When I ________ the key on the bottom of the globe, the quiet room was full of music. Isaiah said,“Mum, do you remember how I by accident ________ your snow globe? It broke on the ground ________ the music was still going on. I was so,so sad. ”His face turned a little ________ . But the truth was that I did not quite ________ the broken snow globe after a long time. But Isaiah had been sorry for his ________ all the time. I was sure I would keep this snow globe in my mind forever.