My 17-year-old daughter went off to college and having her away from home brought back memories of watching Peter Pan when she was little. In the classic TV production, one scene in particular impressed me: when Mrs. Darling puts her children into bed. As she turns off the last of the night light, she takes one last look at the bedroom and says, “Dear night lights, protect my sleeping children.” As a mother, I know how much she loves her children.

    It has been several weeks since we took our 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 my children at night. But now she's gone, and I find nighttimes the hardest. I miss her most at night.

    In my neighborhood, most of the parents whose kids are off to college are dealing with similar melancholy. My husband is filled with anxiety. One friend talked about getting this sick feeling in her stomach as she prepared for the college drop-off. We complained that many of us were too busy to truly enjoy being with our children while we had them.

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

    I imagine things will get easier with time, especially as I see my daughter adjust to college life. Meanwhile, as I keep my cell phone close to me in bed and text my daughter goodnight and sweet dreams every night, I like to think that messages serve as a night light that keeps her safe.

      Florence Nightingale was born in a rich family.When she was young she took lessons in music and drawing，and read a lot of books.She also travelled a great deal with her mother and father.

      As a child she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure.She enjoyed helping them.At last her mind was made up.“I’m going to be a nurse，” she decided.“Nursing isn’t the right work for a lady，” her father told her.

       “Then I will make it so，” she smiled.And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France.When she returned to England，Florence started a nursing home for women.

      During the Crimean War in 1854 she went with a group of thirty-eight nurses to the front hospitals.What they saw there was terrible.Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen and smelled.The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital，either.But the brave nurses went to work.

      Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes，beds，medicines and food for the men.Her only pay was in smiles from the lips of dying soldiers.But they were more than enough for this kind woman.

      After war she returned to England and was honoured for her services by Queen Victoria.But Florence said that her work had just begun.She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London.She also wrote a book on public health，which was printed in several countries.

Florence Nightingale died at the age of ninety，still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse.Indeed，it is because of her that we honour nurses today.