WRITTEN JUST BEFORE THE SPRING FESTIVAL

New Roman">After several days it will be Spring Festival. Perhaps it really goes as what a famous poet put it: “You miss your relatives more during festivals.” Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. It is a time of reunion. All family members, no matter where they work, will come home to enjoy the get-together.

However things are quite different now. When I was young, the life is hard, especially financially. Most of the families were poor and they just couldn’t afford to enjoy luxuries of any form. But we felt content with only good meals, some fireworks, and playing games with our playmates. We enjoyed ourselves so much. The snow was heavier then. Sometimes we did nothing but roam in the fields for a whole day, only to be scolded by our parents. It was so chilly but we simply enjoyed ourselves so much.

Most of my intimate playmates have found jobs in the city. They are living a more comfortable life than I do. They have cars. But we seldom get together now. Perhaps we are too busy with our work. Some of them are even reluctant to go back home. It is not actually because we give no thought to the relatives, but we are simply too lazy.

Time flies. Now we are approximately in our middle ages. Sometimes when I am alone I am reminiscent of the days past and try to figure out how many days left to me. “Don’t stay idle until your hair becomes gray and what you can do then is only to moan for the past days.” As Yue Fei, one of the prominent patriots and military commander, put it in his Manjianghong.