On a spring night / 春末的夜裡

春末的夜裡，小男孩瑞瑞和媽媽咪咪來看我，而雙胞胎哥哥在車上睡覺，瑞瑞睡不著，因為怕做惡夢。

On a spring night, Ray comes to visit me with his mom Mimi, while his twin brother sleeps in the car. Ray can't sleep because he is afraid of having nightmares. 

瑞瑞問我：「汪達阿姨，你讀一年級的時候有夢想嗎？」我搖搖頭，很可惜地說沒有。

瑞瑞說：「我想當歌手。」
咪咪鼓勵瑞瑞唱一曲。於是我們在深夜裡開了盡興的小型演唱會。
媽媽繼續說兩兄弟的趣事，例如下田體驗農耕生活時，當其他孩子雙腳深陷於泥濘當中，精力過盛的兩人追著鴉子跑。

Ray asks me, "Auntie Wanda, did you have a dream when you were in first grade?" Unfortunately, I didn't. I felt pity for not being able to give a more creative answer.
Ray goes on to say, "I want to be a singer."
Mimi encourages Ray to sing, and thus starts our late-night mini-concert.
Mimi tells me more anecdotes about the two brothers.  For example, as the other kids panicked, the boys got so carried away when experiencing farming that they started to chase after the ducks.

好寧靜又好有活力的春夜啊！

What a peaceful and energetic spring night!

How do you say "I love you" / 怎麼說「我愛你」

我們喜歡和八歲的楷維亂聊一通，常常聊著聊著就會得到重要訊息。某天他說到了喜歡的女生，很有自信地和我們說小女生也愛他，我和媽媽不得不接下去問：「你怎麼知道？」他竊竊自喜地回答：「她兩本作業本一打開就寫著『我愛方楷維！』」

We love to chat with the eight-year-old Kai. Often we will discover his big secrets as we ramble. One day he mentions his little girlfriend. He tells us with such confidence that the girl loves her too. Mom and I just can't help asking, "How do you know?" He replies with self-important pleasure, "She wrote on the first page of her two notebooks, 'I love Kai!'" 

        不同於那些曖昧不明的關係，孩子們直率、不害羞的示愛方式多麼動人，於是我也在我的筆記本上留下同樣的字眼，記住愛人與被愛的美好。

      Far different from the play-hard-to-get love games, the ways children say I love you are so straightforward and brave. Thus, I have the same words written down in my journal to remember the beauty of loving people and being loved. 

Then, / 然後，

做了同樣工作十五年是什麼感覺呢？我還是很喜歡這個工作，也喜歡遇到的孩子們，但是對於自己的工作意義有很多矛盾的想法，就像每個工作一樣，有理想的目標，同時也有現實的挑戰。

How does it feel to do the same job for fifteen years? Undeniably, I still like the job and the kids that I have spent time with along the way. However, I have to deal with more and more contradictory feelings in myself. As with every profession, it is essential to strike a balance between ideals and the reality.

        有一天楷維出門去上英文課之前，阿公公問了他：楷維，腦袋有戴著嗎？

他答：放在冰箱裡。

     One day before Kai went to English class, Grandpa asked him, "Kai, do you have your head with you?" 

     He answered, "It's in the fridge." 

        思維升上五年級之後，功課變多了，前天寫到十一點四十五分才睡覺。以前他總是每天早上帶著明亮的笑容對我說：上學很好玩啊！現在他就只是累累地微笑。

     This fall since Von was in fifth grade, he has much more homework than before. He didn't hit the sack until 11:45 p.m. two days ago. He used to greet me with a bright grin in the morning, saying, "It's fun to go to school." Now, he just squeezes a weary smile. 

        我說：那麼我們今天不要帶腦袋出去好了，身體走出去就好，腦子放在家裡，想像我們躺在沙發上一整個早上聊天。

     I say, "Then, let's go to school without our heads. We'll go with just our bodies and leave our heads home. Let's imagine lying on the sofa and chatting the whole morning." 

        還好他笑了。

     Fortunately, he laughs. 

        楷維嘻嘻笑地說：老師問我腦袋在哪，我就說要回家拿！ 

        我說：然後老師就氣到炸掉了！

     Kai giggles, "The teacher will ask me where my head is, and I will say I need to go home to get it." 

     I reply, "Then the teacher explodes with anger!" 

        然後，這世界上就再也沒有老師，也沒有功課了！

        我們三個帶著這樣愉悅的心情出門去。我又接著去給學生出更多的功課‧‧‧‧‧‧

     "Then, there won't be any teacher, thus, NO HOMEWORK! Hooray!"

     We three go out in a pleasant mood in the end. Finally, I go to work and give my students more homework...

Relay game / 接力畫

今天和男孩們玩一個游戲，我先開始一張圖，他們必須畫得一模一樣，我們三個在書房裡排排坐，最後還搶起畫筆。

Today we try a new game, that is, I will start to draw a picture and the boys have to draw exactly the same as me. We sit in a row in the study. In the end, we even fight for the colored pencils. 

        這當中我有許多有趣的發現，例如說，楷維是數學腦，與其畫無限的橘子把畫面填滿，他採用直線排列，並且先數我畫了幾顆。

     In the process I have some intriguing discoveries. For example, Kai is a math person. Instead of following his instinct and filling the image with oranges, he draws in lines and even counts beforehand how many I have drawn. 

        我們輪流休息去。因為太好玩了，我們畫了快三個小時。

     We take turns taking a break. It's so much fun that we keep at the project for almost three hours. 

        我看到每個人的風格各異，我們一起開了很多玩笑，好久沒有這樣玩了呢！我在想，這樣的畫面會持續到男孩們幾歲呢？

     It's obvious that everyone has their distinctive styles. We even joke about one another's doodle. In fact, we haven't played like this for a long while. And how long will this kind of Sunday fun last? 

        我的人物有點胖胖的。

     My characters are always kind of chubby. 

        楷維的人物瘦瘦高高的，攤販老闆很有黑社會老大的感覺。

     Kai's figures are tall and thin. We tease him for drawing gangster-like vendors. 

        思維的人物很夢幻，比楷維的風格還天真。

     Von's figures are dreamy. I feel his style is even more child-like than Kai's. 

        上哪去找這麼可愛的孩子們呢？

     Where can you look for such lovely kids? 

Free World / 隨意世界

沒有作業的寒假，好久沒來畫畫的男孩終於有時間畫圖。剛開始他們問：「這樣畫可以嗎？」我回答：「你想怎樣就怎樣！」楷維冒出了一句：「這裡是隨意世界！」其實像我這樣在工作上一直在訂規矩的人，和得遵守規矩的人一樣，也很需要隨意世界！

The winter break without homework gives the boys time to draw again after a long lapse. In the beginning they aren't very sure, "Can I draw in this way?" I can't help brushing off the question by replying, "As long as you like it." Then Kai blurts out, "Here is the Free World!" To be honest, I am required to impose restrictions on others at work, but I don't take delight in it. Like my students, I am also in great need of a free world! 

        哥哥太久沒畫圖了，一下畫了七張，弄得楷維很有危機感，不過思維好像停不下來。

     Von draws one picture after another. By the time I am aware of how far he has gone, he has drawn seven pictures, which makes Kai very jealous. Yet he can't stop. 

        思維是歷史控，看來他找到了發揮自己所愛的方式，這真的比任何寒假作業都有意義啊！

     Von is a history buff, and he really has a blast drawing the famous figures in Chinese history. I admit that teachers tend to have a sense of insecurity when asked not to give any assignment, but seeing what Von do, I am reminded again that less is more, and not doing any assignment can be very significant! 

Simple pleasures / 小確幸

每天我都在練習增進生活的喜悅感。出門之前要和男孩聊聊天，今天小王子的髮絲像海浪一樣狂野，阿嬤就得擔任專職的美髮設計師，為楷維整髮，然後我在一旁幫他速寫。

I am practicing accumulating my daily simple pleasures. Before going to work, I usually have a morning chat with the boys. Today Kai's hair curls like wild sea waves. Granny has to serve as his stylist. Meanwhile, I can't help sketching his cool hairstyle. 

        上班時和一朵快要枯萎的緬梔花相遇，雖然已經過了最美麗的瞬間，但還是很優雅芳香，於是我趕緊為她留下紀念。

     I come across a withering Frangipani flower at work. It has lost the blooming charm, but to me, it's still graceful and fragrant. I am so in love with it that I can't resist recording its beauty. 

My robot boyfriends / 我的機器人男友

My sunshine boys / 我的陽光男孩

雖然很想坦然面對自己，但最近感到一片迷惘。

Much as I want to face myself, I still can’t help feeling lost.

                我的白蘋果也於此時掛了。

     My white Macbook decides to crash at the same time.

                可是在男孩的塗鴉裡，我看到小小的火焰，讓我覺得也許再過幾天我就可以重新再來。

     However frustrated I am, I spot sparks of fire in the boys’ doodles, which whisper, “You can do it, you can do it all over again!”