If it were not for a certain Chinese medicine said to be helpful for the gallbladder, we would not be driving northbound to a city more than thirty minutes away, a city we haven’t been to for years. The traffic on the freeway was bad, more crowded than what I remember on a regular pre-pandemic Saturday. The scenes on both sides of freeway do not seem to change much: bare and dull California mountains in the distance, low residential homes below, and tall commercial buildings by the freeway. Amid neatly trimmed towering palm trees are some prominent company logos, standing there invariably for more than a decade now. Blue jacarandas are in full bloom, and their violet-colored flowers are dazzling in the sun. Then a red giant erected A- shaped billboard came to my sight, triggering a reminiscence of the time when with the two suite tickets from my company, he and our daughter went to watch a baseball game here. I remembered a young and excited face after the game. She must have had a good time watching balls flying in front of her, cheering with the crowds, while sitting in a shaded suite with snacks and drinks being served continuously.
He chimed in, saying that they watched a hockey game together possibly in a stadium across the freeway. And a live concert he took her to, where the wildly roaring audience almost squeezed her short of breath, and for a time her feet were off the ground…
I don’t know how much she remembers, and how she looks upon her past 18 years living with us. We lived a thrifty life in the first decade, struggling with our legal status and financials. And like any Chinese mom, I pushed her at both curricular and extracurricular activities, stripping her much of the spare time. But even so, life then was still punctuated with many happy hours,
More memories flooded in, and tears started welling up in my eyes as we drove by the familiar campus, where I studied for more than two years for a degree. Unable to drive, I was chauffeured by him three nights a week to and fro, with our little daughter sitting in the back in her car seat…..
Soon we arrived at the destination, and we decided to visit a regional park first before shopping for the medicine. Like any southern CA valleys and mountains, the trails are dusty and gravelly, but we were rewarded with a bird’s view of the city after a sweating and laborious ascent of the 60 degree slope to the top. The cities spread in front of us, swaths of white-roofed buildings mixed with orange- roofed homes. Some May flowers linger in the heat while most are seeding and withering. We hiked more than 11000 steps that day.
回复 '魏薇' 的评论 : You are very welcome, my friend. Enjoy your reading and writing!
魏薇 发表评论于
回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : yeah, I looked it up and saw the 2nd explanation of dazzling, it means remarkable, impressive. I learned another word which will not be forgotten forever. Thank you, my friend!
暖冬cool夏 发表评论于
回复 '魏薇' 的评论 : Thank you, Weiwei, for reading so carefully and your comments. Writing is a hard skill that requires repeated practice, and in the process you may see progresses and regressions. It takes time and lots of reading and writing to hone the skill and become a mature writer. You are a very diligent writer, and your efforts will definitely rewarded one day.
In terms of the word "dazzle", if you look up in the dictionary for "dazzling", it could simply mean "extremely beautiful", and it is equivalent to “灿烂夺目/眩目” in Chinese in the context of my post. When blue jacarandas are in full bloom, walking under them the sky is canopied by violent hanging flowers:)) 像紫色的云，很眩目的。
理解你的想法。在我看来，你儿子以后上大学可以离家远一些，但是工作最好不要离得太远，人的感情就是在朝夕相处间越来越浓的，亲情也是如此。
谢谢你的留言！祝新周快乐！
魏薇 发表评论于
等我儿子读大学时，我一定不把他放远:)不然会想死的
魏薇 发表评论于
BY THE WAY, I LOVE THE PHOTOS, EXPECIALLY THE FIRST THREE, STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!
魏薇 发表评论于
峥嵘岁月里的记忆弥足珍贵，往事随风起，回首情满怀。。无比温馨
Thanks for sharing your mermories in English and Chinese. I learned from both. in your English version, I learned a few vocalbularies which made me feel excited. they are Dazzle, chime in , thrigty, well up, punctuate. I will use them in my English writting practice soon. Regarding dazzling in one sentence"... their violet-colored flowers are dazzling in the sun." I don't know if you mean the flowers blinded you at a moment, or you want to express they are glowing“ I HAVE NO SUCH EXPERIENCE SO WOULD LIKE TO ASK. THANK YOU AGAIN MY FRIEND!
回复 '7grizzly' 的评论 : Hi, my friend. The slope looks like 45 degree, but in reality we both felt like 60 degree, especially toward the end:))
I am thrilled to know that Tim was actually born in the Southern CA, and is 15. Somehow I had an impression he is still at middle school. Time does fly! Enjoy the time with him! Thanks for reading and comments, my friend.
The slope looks 45 instead of 60 degrees in the picture but great job! Swath is a great word.
I remember driving to and back from the HillCrest hospital in San Diego 15 years ago. Both trips were in the dark and it was so quiet. No one paid attention, but one tiny person rode back with us.
