The Happiest Times

My beautiful daughter once came to me in a dream.  In the dream, my son went safely to Dallas to take an exam. I didn’t want to wake up from my dream, so I continued to sleep. My son lives in Houston and my daughter lives in Manhattan, New York. They both live too far away for me to see them very often. 

 

Shortly after my family went to Dallas, we all went on a campus tour. It was because my daughter was entering her fourth year of high school and because she had to decide on going to college. The pretty girl always preferred universities in the East, far away from her mother. As soon as we moved to Dallas, we didn't unpack, we didn't have any money, and we all left our new apartment without a job.  

 

The school I wanted to go to the most is Harvard University. At that time, it had been over 20 years since I came to the United States, and I was too busy and had no money to see the famous Harvard University.  MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology University) is located close to the same city of Boston, so I wanted to see that campus too. The school building impresses with its modern architecture and the children loved it too. Of course, my daughter later graduated from MIT.  In addition, on the way to Boston, we first visited Niagara Falls, Canada. We took a family photo there, and it is still framed in our living room. Our attire was shabby, but our faces shined with hope. I framed it in my living room because those hopeful faces give me strength.  I visited Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and it looked like a big castle.  Surprisingly, it was in the middle of a black neighborhood.  After we visited Yale, we went to Princeton University which is on the east coast of New Jersey.  There, I met many high school students and their parents on campus tours. I have seen A&M University in College Station, Texas; UT in Austin, Texas; and Rice University in Houston, Texas.

 

The next winter, I was poor, but even though I was poor, I wanted to let my kids experience new things. I ended up taking my kids to a ski resort in Denver, Colorado.  We were able to get my children into a ski class, however, only the children went skiing that day because my husband and I were busy taking pictures of them while drinking our coffees. The children were excited about this new world they were experiencing and their faces looked happy.  On our way home, we stopped at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort, which has both indoor and outdoor hot springs.  It was such a beautiful sight to see the warm spring water flowing through the snow and the people in their swimsuits.  The snow-capped mountains in the background were so beautiful, it was a sight I could never have imagined before. It was really good to visit. 

 

Also, the following year on winter break, we went through Chicacgo, Illinois, and then to Washington, D.C.  The children loved science, so we had to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and it was their favorite.  I took a lot of pictures at the museum and especially of the night view of the city; it was really beautiful.  Traveling with my children was the happiest time for me. 

 

If there is not much time left in my life, I would love to travel with my children just one more time again before I die.