Category: 痛并快乐着

Hi Paula,

How are you doing? I’m back again.

I know you may have some doubts that I may not come this year as your dad ever mentioned. But I tried my best to arrange this trip tonight. However, it’s sadly this has to be my last visit to you because you grow up. You will be 11 next Feb, right? You are no longer a little girl anymore. There’s a rule in Santa Claus Village that Santa Claus will never deliver gifts to children older than 10! I must follow the rule. But don’t worry. From next year, your mum and dad will send you gifts on behalf of me on the same Christmas Eve. As to me, I will still be very busy to send gifts to the little boys and girls younger than 10. You know there’re millions of babies born in this world every year.

I quickly went through your achievements this year before I rode on my sled. The many number ones surprised me again! I’m so proud of you! And I did see you made big progress on taking care of yourself, making plans by yourself and doing things per the plans. Keep going and you will do better! Now I want to share you my secret of “success” as my best gift to you other than any other physical gifts. It’s quite simple: 1, setup the goal, 2, make plan, 3, act on the plan, 4, take feedback and repeat 2-4 until you achieve the goal. Isn’t it simple? The key to make this work is persistence. I believe you can!

Well, I have to say goodbye. I hope you can visit my village some day when you can travel alone far away. I’ll be right there waiting for you.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Yours, Santa Claus

Dec 24, 2018

十岁生日会上，回顾着孩子们稚嫩可爱的成长照片，看着孩子们认真地写下成长心愿，听着孩子们稚气未脱的成长誓言，不由得心潮澎湃，感慨万千。回首十年前的那天，小小婴儿呱呱坠地，努力睁开眼睛渴望认识这个世界，这一切仿佛就在昨天。十年弹指一挥间，孩子已渐渐长大，从襁褓到爬行，从爬行到行走，从行走到奔跑；从牙牙学语到初背唐诗，从初背唐诗到阅读名著；从一切靠爸爸妈妈，到自己的事自己做，孩子渐渐成长为一个聪明、活泼、有思想、有见解的小小少年。这场盛大的生日会，就像一艘平稳的游轮，载着孩子、家长和老师们，畅游在爱与被爱的海洋；就像时光隧道中的一道闪电，照亮你成长岁月中的点点滴滴；就像飞往春天的雁群停下来喝口水、歇歇脚，再展翅高飞，迎接明天的暴雨或骄阳！孩子啊，未来在你脚下，爸爸妈妈和老师，会引领着你、陪伴着你，直到你长大、独立、自强！加油，孩子，你是你自己的希望！

Ok，这是妈妈写了一半甩给我的作业，说班主任马上要。好吧，我接力。最后一个比喻愣是下楼走了两圈才憋出来滴….

Hey Dear Paula,

How are you? I’m back. It’s been a while since I came over to see you in January this year. Of course, you were in a good dream that night so I left you a letter. I believe you’ve completely read through it with some little help from your daddy. I told you that my nine deer had a long vacation after the crazy Christmas Eve last year. They are energetic again tonight! So am I. Aha!

I’m pretty sure you are deserved to get some gifts tonight because of all the excellent jobs you have done. You didn’t surprise me that you won the first prizes of Piano and Language Performance again this year. But you surprised me that your Language Performance got into the top 10 of the city! What a fabulous achievement! Do you know how much I like to hear you playing the piano? I like Sakura most. It always reminds me the beautiful sakura trees and flowers in Japan. Oh yes, your English and math are getting better and better. I know you like Pop English. That’s great! Keep going! It’s true that math is always like a tough monster. But I saw your progress. You beat most of the homework immediately right after you came home from the class. That’s really a good habit and don’t drop it. Now you can recite many beautiful poems. You read many good books. You learned basic badminton skills. You even started to learn singing. What a busy year! Shouldn’t you be proud of yourself? Shouldn’t you trust yourself? Shouldn’t you thank your mummy for her accompanying? Tell you a secret, your mummy and daddy actually think you are excellent even though they are always critical to you. That’s simply because they want you more excellent. Trust me, all the parents do.

But (there’s always a but after all the good things) you failed the ABRSM music theory exam. And your Chinese composition is far away from excellence. Think about why you failed. Is it because you didn’t spend much time on it and lacked of practice? We all know time is flying quickly. Only the faster runner can catch it up. I encourage you do things faster so you can earn more time. The key of doing things faster is concentration. Frankly you made some progress on this but still not enough. I hope you can put this on the top of all my good wishes to you in the next year. Do you agree? Great! Now my 2^nd wish is to expect you can manage your stuffs on your own. You will be 10 soon. You are no longer a little girl anymore. You cannot always depend on your parents. I believe you have the capability to manage your stuffs on you own. Remember, TIME is the most valuable thing among all your stuffs.

Well, I do have other 10 more wishes to you but I have to go and visit other kids. Check out what you wrote down on the back of the door of your room. They are all your wishes, also mine. Now enjoy your new gift. Keep in mind you are an excellent girl and you can do things faster and better. I’ll be very happy to come over again on the next Christmas Eve, probably with another gift!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Santa Claus

Dec 24, 2017

Dear Paula,

Guess who I am? Aha, I bet you won’t know until you read this letter slowly and carefully. I visited you in the past 8 years on Christmas Eve. Sorry, it should be 7 years because I didn’t come on the very last Christmas Eve, because…I guess you know the reason, right? Of course, you were always in good dreams when I visited you.

I remember I have told your father in his dream one night that you may also get a gift IF you are doing well. Well, now I’m glad to see that you have done something awesome in the past year. You won the first prizes of Piano and Language Performance in the middle of the year. You won the five-star prize of calculation match of XueErSi. You passed the fifth degree of Piano ABRSM – terrific! You got 9.2 scores in final exam of Language Performance. You even got 100+20 scores in final exam of maths. Look! So many achievements you got in the past year. You should be proud of yourself! Your mother and father should be proud of you too!

I would suggest your father send the Lego in his luggage to you instead of sending it to his colleague because of what you have done (he can buy another one to his colleague, right?). I’m so sorry that my deer are taking a long vacation after the hard working in last Christmas Eve so I really can’t visit and send you the gift by myself. I hope you accept my apology.

I promise I will send you a new gift in the next Christmas Eve personally if you continue doing well. That means you should not only continue what you are doing well, but also improve some areas. For example, focusing when doing things, never mad at anyone, always polite, brave to raise the hand and answer the question in the class, reading more meaningful books, having the sense of time, being able to manage your personal matters, knowing what the most important things are, and, trying to help your mother and father. Wow, sounds so many things to improve! Don’t worry, I will see any progress you make, your mother and father will see too. A big achievement always comes from small improvements.

Come on Paula! Trust yourself! I believe you will be doing well. YOU ARE EXCELLENT!

Your Sincerely
Santa Claus

Jan 11, 2017

皮皮四岁了，好快。一到周末，若不外出，家里就变成幼儿园。小朋友们也一起长大，可以非常准确地用语言进行交流，可以任意进行角色扮演，虽然还时不时因为争执而变成嚎啕。大人们都清楚地计算着离孩子们步入填鸭式中国教育还剩下的日子。在这之前，我们能做的只是尽量让孩子们欢乐。专注：

刚到公司就被召回，皮皮得了手足口病！一个星期的治疗隔离加一个星期的恢复隔离看来是少不了了，当然都是在家里。所以，万事总有正反两面。朋友多、聚会多，可以练出不怕生、开朗的性格，却有被传染病偷袭的风险。不过综合考虑，这个风险还是要冒的，哪能因噎废食呢。皮皮到医院看病，惊喜地发现她已经不惧怕白大褂了，已经可以非常配合医生的检查了。吃药也挺痛快的，我都觉得很难吃的一种药剂，人家硬是一口咽下，虽然之后不停摇头满脸痛苦。翻翻手机，发现许多有趣的情节，秀一下。

可以自己吃饭了，当然还不能从一而终，不过嘴张得确实大！

最近迷上了扮鬼脸，吃饭时也不忘来一个。招牌动作，扮可爱，插上两朵小花，活脱脱一村姑。
喜欢攀登任何高出路面的障碍物。对洋快餐像所有小孩一样喜欢，还好我们并不禁忌，所以也并不迷恋。可以熟练地解锁我的手机，翻出愤怒的小鸟打上几关，或者登录我的台式电脑，启动Zuma或钻石迷情弄上一阵子。最近迷上的是水果连连看，可以飞快地打完一关，比奶奶还厉害。哎，不到3岁，就已经是手机控和游戏迷了。

今天是皮皮入幼整两周，也是第一天缺课，因为发高烧了。算起来这是皮皮第三次发烧，前两次都不太高，很快就退了。昨晚烧到39度多，今下午临近40。皮皮妈带她到医院开了点药，晚上退到38度多。晚上我回家时，小家伙就跟没事一样依旧活蹦乱跳。据说就是下午最高温时蔫了一阵。

皮皮妈框皮皮睡觉，连自己一起框睡了。太累了。无法指望的第十二个保姆也走了，只能自己累了。

好清静！

上幼儿园的头两天，皮皮大概没反应过来，没哭。我们正窃喜中，却从第三天开始大哭，晚上和早上都哭着说“我不想上幼儿园”，尤其是早上扔进去时。如果跟她说，小朋友都上幼儿园，她就会拖长了声音说“我——不想上幼儿园”。自我意识相当的强！不过好在我们之前就循循善诱做了不少铺垫，从监控视频看到基本十几分钟后就可止哭。第一周老师还每天打电话，也基本报喜不报忧。第二周没有电话了，只有下午接出时跟老师简短的沟通。好在第二周就少哭了许多，且会一边上学一边自己安慰自己“今天我只哭一下，明天就不哭了”，“周末不上幼儿园”，等等。昨天出差回来有时间去接她，小家伙非常开心，至少证明了接园是彻底没问题了。

吃饭仍然头痛，从她回家后还能比平时更厉害地吞下一大碗就看得出来在幼儿园一定是没有好好吃。不过自己喂食入口的准确度确实提高了不少。最值得庆祝的是戒掉奶瓶了，连中午睡觉都不用叼着奶瓶了。

可是问她在幼儿园跟谁玩了，只能说出一两个名字。做了什么游戏，吃了什么东西，都恍惚不能回答。如果问有没有玩积木，有没有画画，就会说有或没有了。原来目前还不能回答开放式问题。

不知这突如其来的发烧是否会中断她刚刚培养起来的入幼习惯。中断也没法，她小小年纪，也必须体会人在江湖身不由己的感受。

其实我是很不喜欢凑热闹的，尤其是花了n多亿的面子工程。去世博的唯一目的是为了检验2岁的小家伙是否能够适应长途旅行–飞机、火车、没有小床的宾馆、不那么规律不那么合胃口的饮食，等等。结果，小家伙兴奋的要命，根本没有问题。世博园区倒是整洁宽敞。也有公交，但总要走一阵才能到指定上车点。所以多半还是走路。组织者还是煞费苦心造了很多遮阳伞。还好我们去时是上海最好的季节，不冷不热。难以想象7、8月大热天人们如何在这空旷的园区跋涉，尽管有遮阳伞。左下角那张图就是进入园区时隔离排队的人们用的，转得我头都昏了。场馆外观非常fashion，当然是花了不少银子滴。万科馆（左下图）居然是些硕大的簸箕！装粮食还是装钞票？进入馆内就大失所望了，基本就是忽悠人民群众的智商–文字、图片、影音资料和少许模型。怎么都有种金玉其外败絮其中的感觉。下面这些照片摄于中国铁路馆。就这冷门馆都排了20分钟队。热门馆排2-3小时很正常。我仔细观察，入馆的人们也都匆匆忙忙，走马观花而已，没人认真阅读那些文字说明。当然，为什么人们要大老远跑上海去读读那些随便在网上就能找到的内容呢？右下角那个和谐号模型，半米左右长吧，标价7500大洋！再来几个冷门馆，大同小异。小朋友倒是挺兴奋的。右上角是兰博基尼呃！有几个馆是在老的浦西工业区包括江南造船厂改造的。我喜欢那些斑驳的柱子。园区内设施提供还是不错的，不用担心憋得慌或者饿得慌。还有些莫名其妙的表演。以及到处坐着疲惫不堪的人们。值得称道的是园区内随处可见的艺术作品，有些还真不错。来了大上海，总要逛逛陆家嘴。幸好带了广角镜头。当然少不了黄浦江边。可惜没时间到对面去了，据说从对面看江景感觉更好。

忙活了一个月，三位妈妈合伙的小店终于开张试营业了，取名为“朵拉 精品童装”，据说不能有“店”，带上“店”就不吉利了。在本就忙碌的小孩入幼之前，三位妈妈居然有勇气和决心挑战时间和精力，不得不叹服。老年人难免嘀嘀咕咕，观念不同，可以理解，但全然不能阻止妈妈们的决心。其实妈妈们的决心和毅力主要来自对童装的热爱（或许是对所有漂漂衣服的热爱），夹杂着多年来自己开个小店创业的梦想，和一点点兴许将来真的可以赚钱的期望。三位老公也算是典型的成都好男人了，出资、献策、跑腿，完全是100%的支持和分担，还都对老婆说，不要担心亏本，一开始都是会亏的。妈妈们进货很有眼光，都是外贸原厂的日韩大牌原单童装。昨天有位顾客一边挑衣服，一边说，她看过广州、香港很多商店的童装都没有我们小店的童装品质好。于是还是有些信心了。

选址、装修、招聘、进货、定价、管理系统，样样都是麻烦事。还好大家分工合作，各尽所能。我当然成为小店的CTO，确定第三代收银系统并安装调试所有软件硬件，目前也算半个专家了。试营业两天，系统运转正常。除了支持老婆，其实我还有个目的，就是想亲自参与真正的营销，检验一下这些年看过的若干关于营销、管理、财务方面的书籍。应该是很有趣的一件事。

最后打个广告，希望有小孩的朋友光临：

最近太忙，博客更新很慢。丫头的变化却很快，尤其是语言和智力发育方面，可以说是日新月异。喜欢重复大人讲话的最后一个字，然后有天突然会说“爸爸好”“妈妈好”“奶奶好”“阿姨好”。自言自语多起来，咿呀学语的样子很好玩。会偷听大人讲话，知道讲到哪个人，还会偷笑。喜欢挑衅大人的忍耐极限，故意做错事看你的表情。如果你朝她走去会撒丫子狂奔，奶奶根本追不上。喜欢漂亮阿姨，比如金宝贝的Tina和Hilary老师，允许漂亮老师亲，也亲漂亮老师。陌生人，尤其是长得不漂亮的，碰碰手都没门。现在就开始扣妈妈的眼霜搽脸，煞有介事的样子，妈妈那个心疼（心疼眼霜）。喜欢戴首饰，剥夺了外婆的珍珠项链戴上就不愿取下来。一岁半就开始显露出妖女的本色。但绝非淑女。见凳子就往上爬，凳子如果在餐桌边上餐桌就是目标。有单杠类物体就立即伸手吊起身体。喜欢前滚翻后滚翻（爸爸帮忙）。一副运动健将的样子。喜欢玩水玩沙。水溅你一身你假装生气，她还会来怯怯地亲你表示道歉。当然亲完继续泼水。那天我和LP大声训斥一个NC，丫头立即大哭，她已经能从大人的言谈中感觉到紧张和不安了（所以，家庭和睦很重要）。一岁半，各种儿童敏感期如约而至。