Chinese Version

My daughter is learning Hebrew in school right now. She has often shared with me the joys experienced while using her very limited Hebrew vocabulary to engage in discussion and tell stories during class.

One day, she came home and told me: “In today’s Hebrew class, the teacher asked a question: ‘If you tell your mother that you have no clothes to wear, what will your mother’s reply be?’”

I wondered loud: “What were the answers?”

“The answers of all of my classmates, except me, were: ‘my mother would say let’s go shopping for new clothes’. My answer was: ‘my mother will say: ‘let me make a few new clothes for you”.”

The context for my daughter’s answer is as follows:

At the beginning of this year, my daughter said that her winter outfits contain long skirts but no short skirts and that she needs a few short skirts for the winter.

One Sunday, we shopped at a few places in downtown Boston, but she didn’t like the fabrics or the styles of the short skirts in the stores. Because she was very disappointed so then I told her: “You pick some fabric and I will make a few short skirts for you.”

The first try is always the hardest one. My daughter choose a thick dark colored outer fabric and I picked a very thin and smooth light color inner fabric. I used a medium-sized needle to make the thick top skirt first and I didn’t switch the needle to a smaller size when I started making the very thin and very smooth underskirt. As a result, the sewing machine could not hook the top thread with the threads underneath and I had to redo the underskirt many times, which was a hassle.

Everything is hard in the beginning. I started to make the first skirt in January and finished it in February. My daughter commented with regards to the underskirt: “The inside of skirt looks very rough.”

Because the underskirt was redone a few times, the light colored underskirt still has many random dark color stitches which gives a careless appearance. Looking at the shabby-looking underskirt, I understood the wisdom of the idiom “Good work requires good equipment (工欲善其事,必先利其器)”. Luckily, the outer skirt was very neat and tidy, and the customer didn’t refuse the product.

I called an old Chinese saying: “The surface of horseshit is always as shiny as polished leather (马屎皮面光).” and laughed at myself silently.

In the middle of February, following my daughter’s request for a dark color, double-layered, knee-length skirt, I made three skirts for her. She liked them all and I was very happy.


Because of these three skirts, my daughter had a different answer for her Hebrew class, a surprising little episode.

In Summer 2019, I made a dark rich corduroy short skirt for Greta, my daughter’s teacher and friend, a real Belgium beauty. That skirt brought out a story of our friendship.

Prince Frosty, the best assistant.

英文版

女儿正在学希伯来语，她常分享她用有限的新词汇说话、讲故事、写作业的小乐趣。

有一天，她放学回来告诉我：“今天的希伯来语课堂上，老师问了一个问题：‘如果你告诉妈妈你没有衣服穿了，你妈妈会怎么回答你？‘”

我好奇地问道：“你们的答案是什么？”

“所以的同学的答案都是：妈妈会说我们去商店买衣服。”

女儿接着说：“只有我的答案是：妈妈会说我给你做几件。”

女儿的答案是事出有因。

今年年初，女儿说她的冬装里只有长裙，没有短裙，她需要添几条冬装短裙。

我们去了几个商店挑选冬装短裙，可是没有挑到布料和式样都中意的短裙。女儿很失望，我告诉她，你选布料，我帮你做几条短裙子。

第一条裙子我做得费时费力。女儿选的裙子面料比较厚，可我选的内衬裙料又薄又滑。我用中号针缝了面裙之后，没有及时换成小号针；结果我缝薄滑的内衬裙时，缝纫机很不配合，面线常常不吃地线，返工无数很是折腾。

万事开头难，第一条短裙从今年一月做到二月才收工。女儿评价成品：“里面看上去很马虎。”

因为返工多次，浅色的内衬裙上有好多条随意的深色机缝线，看上去很草率。看着马虎的内衬裙，我体会了“工欲善其事，必先利其器“的精辟。好在短裙的正面整洁大方，客户没有拒收产品。 我想到了“马屎皮面光”，暗自乐了。

到二月中旬，按女儿的要求：深色、双层、齐膝，我给她做了三条小短裙，她很喜欢我也很开心。

因为这三条短裙，有了女儿在希伯莱语课堂上的不一样的答案，一个意想不到的小插曲。

夏天，我为女儿在德国的老师加朋友，Greta，做了一条灯芯绒的小短裙，有了一个充满友情的故事。

猫王子，好助手

今天发现我家猫王子Frosty很脏，我掐指一算有半年没给他洗过澡了。Frosty对水恐惧，所以我很少给他洗澡。

给Frosty洗澡是一个异常费力的活。他不喜欢洗澡，一进到水里就会长长地嚎叫，惨不忍听。我还记得2016年感恩节前，Frosty钻到地下室后，女儿和我給他洗澡的往事。

我家Frosty是调养性情滋生爱心的祥物，平时他很让人开心，可是洗澡时的他很让人紧张。

因为对水的恐惧，水里的Frosty随时想窜出水池，这让洗猫人不得不成为一个水池中的运动员。

坐在水池里，跪在水池里，蹲在水池里，半蹲半跪在水池里，矫健运动员的一切姿势都是为了稳住猫猫再给他好好的冲洗和梳洗……

今天我在浴池里和Frosty鏖战了快一个小时，给他洗了一个痛快的澡。洗完澡后把毛毛给他吹干，然后摸着他柔软雪白的毛，听着他purr（咕噜咕噜声），我静静地享受着辛苦后的安逸，一种美妙。研究发现猫猫的咕噜咕噜声带有特殊的低频电磁波可以强化骨骼、治愈创伤、舒筋活血、减缓压力、止痛消肿。猫的咕噜咕噜声对人体也有类似的效果，铲屎官的一个福利。

Frosty是女儿和儿子二零零九年领养的一只白猫。Frosty是领养时就有的名字， 我们没有改，因为Frosty是雪霜的意思， 这个名字很适合我们的猫猫，一只雪白帅气的猫王子！我们领养Frosty时，它只有6个月大，已经养成用便盆的习惯，所以领养过程很顺利。

Frosty小时候很好动很喜欢追逐动着的东西。儿子买了激光手电， 让那蓝蓝的光点快速跳跃， Frosty会很开心的去追那小小的激光点， 很认真、很投入、很逗人爱。 女儿用色彩鲜艳闪闪发亮的塑料长项链（迪斯尼乐园里发的那种五颜六色的免费长链子）训练Frosty去捡链子。Frosty真学会了去捡链子。Frosty给上小学和中学的儿女带来好多快乐！

Forsty非常好客，听到门铃声常跑到门口等着迎接客人。在屋里，他会围着客人转、冲着客人叫，活脱脱一个殷勤好客的猫主，很受猫奴们宠爱。

Frosty训练我面对烂摊子保持冷静。他是这样给我上的课: 有一个周六的一大早Frosty把一盆花从书架上推翻到地上打碎了, 弄得书架上，书之间，地板上到处是泥土, 一片狼迹。

我很生气的冲着它发火, 它却对着我施展了一系列无知者无罪的憨厚魅力： “我很可爱”, “我在考虑”, “我没错”, “我不在乎”……

猫猫的憨厚让我没法生气！当我开始清理他弄得烂摊子时, 他又兴致勃勃地赶到现场来视察战绩了。

我边做清洁边思考， 这烂摊子要是孩子们搞的，我一定会大讲一通关于责任感的道理， 一定会让孩子们自己去收拾这烂摊子！可是捅娄子的主即听不懂责任感的道理也不会做清洁，我连发表演说的机会都没有。 明白这一点， 我一点怨怒都没有了，心平气和地把书, 书架, 地上一一清扫干净。

现在Frosty很喜欢和我作伴，我躺在沙发上，他会跑来爬在我身上；我看电视，他会站在电视屏幕前；我用计算机，他会在键盘上躺下……

宠物是调养性情, 滋生爱心的祥物。

献给天国的猫王子（Frosty于2018年7月1日走了）。

小插曲