It's said that you don't know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. And you also don't know what it's like for old people to travel until you accompany（陪伴）one on a trip.

After flying with my elderly father from Washington, D.C.to L.A.in July, I began to realize that a companion has important tasks that can make a journey easier for old people. I booked nonstop tickets on JetBlue to avoid tiring, confusing connections, and we flew directly into Long Beach Airport. Even though my father could walk, I arranged with the airline for wheelchair assistance, which meant we got on board first.

When I took him back to the airport for his return flight to Washington, I got permission from JetBlue to wait with him at the gate instead of saying goodbye at the security checkpoint. I wished he'd had a first-class seat and access to a comfortable airline club. Better yet, I wished I had flown with him on both ways. As I watched the attendant wheel him to the lift that would take him from the tarmac（停机坪）to the plane, I felt like an anxious mom sending her child to school for the first time.

Things can go awry on a plane trip. And then there is a horrifying story about Joe and Margie. When they landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a wheelchair attendant met them to help with a connection. But somehow Margie, who had Alzheimer's disease, disappeared.

I didn't need to worry about my father's wandering away；at 82, his mind was sharper than mine. But his hearing was poor, so I worried about what would happen if he missed an important announcement.

Fortunately, everything went just fine. A good arrangement（安排）made the trip successful.

Next time I travel with a senior, I'll know better. I hope there will be a next time.

   I’m a woman, whose colleagues are nearly all women as well. So having a son can be a strange experience. I sometimes tell my husband that raising our 3-year-old boy _____ someone dropped me off on another _____ where I didn’t know the language and had no map.

My son makes me laugh, but his desires and _____ sometimes do feel as _____ to me as another galaxy (星系). He has taught me so much about the bigger man (my husband) in my life and even _____ about men in general.

When I get _____ at my husband now, I look at our son and stop. He was once as sweet and precious as my son, _____ he is so annoying now.

My mother-in-law’s attitude used to be puzzling to me, but now I _____ it. I love my son so much. If some woman ever _____ him, she’d be punished for that.

______ my daughter can’t find something, she will search. But my son is ______ calling, “Mommy ! Daddy! Where is my toy?” It’s so much like my husband. He will also spend 0.1 second ______ for it before calling out to me and ______ where the butter, cheese, or coat is. My son has taught me it’s a man’s thing.______, that doesn’t mean I won’t make him stop having the bad habit. I ______ will. Isn’t that what all moms say?

My husband showers every day on most ______ days. But on weekends or on vacation? Forget it. Now I understand that. My son ______ bath time and screams the whole time. I have to bribe (诱哄) him to get ______.

Nothing is sweeter for a mom than her baby boy. My daughter and I are equally ______, but in a different way. He tells me he loves me and how beautiful I am. I wish I could bottle that sweetness and ______ it for his teen years.

I was so sad that __________________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your early reply.

Your friend,

Li Hua

   Your peers are people your age or close to it who have experiences and interests similar to yours. You and your friends make dozens of decisions every day，and you influence each other’s choices and behavior. This is often ______ —it’s human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.

Sometimes，though，the stresses in your life can actually come from your peers. They may pressure you into doing something you’re uncomfortable with，such as shoplifting，doing drugs or drinking，or taking dangerous risks when you are driving a car.

The pressure to conform（随潮流）can be powerful and hard to resist. A person might feel pressure to do something just because others are doing it. Peer pressure can influence a person to do something that is relatively harmless—or something that has more serious consequences. People may feel pressure to conform，so they fit in or are accepted，and they don’t feel awkward or uncomfortable. When people are unsure of what to do in a social situation，they naturally look to others for cues（暗示）about what is and isn’t acceptable.

The people who are most easily influenced will follow someone else’s lead first. Then others may go along，too—so it can be easy to think，“It must be OK. Everyone else is doing it. They must know what they’re doing.”Before you know it，many people are going along with the crowd—perhaps on something they might not otherwise do.

Responding to peer pressure is part of human nature—but some people are more likely to give in，and others are better able to resist and stand their ground.

It’s not always easy to resist negative peer pressure. But when you do，it is easy to feel good about it afterwards. And you may even be a positive influence on your peers who feel the same way—often it just takes one person to speak out or take a different action to change a situation.