At about 7: 40 this morning, having just had a tasty breakfast, I was comfortably sitting on the couch, thinking today I would not have to rush as usual, when the cell phone rang. “Who would call me at such an early time?” I thought. “Mr. Rich, do you have a first class today? …” Immediately I knew that I had made a terrible mistake! I had a first class today and the students were waiting for me! Oh, my god! Without wasting a moment, I ran downstairs and jumped on my motorcycle.

When I got there, gasping and exhausted, more than half of the class had passed. “I’m sorry, I’m late.” I said to the students apologetically. They gave me an it’s-all-right cheer, which made me so much relieved. After the class, I made some arrangements so that the lost time could be made up.

It was kind of odd for me to make such an error, for I have never missed or misremembered a single class in my whole life. “Alas, Am I getting old?” I just couldn’t help but ask myself. Yes, it could be a sign of getting old; after all I’m no longer young. Maybe I have to accept it and make some adjustments.

Being a teacher working with kids, I’ve never felt that I’m actually that old in spite of my real physiological age. Maybe that’s one of the benefits of being a teacher, though it is only a false perception.

It’s so nice to be young all the time. However, it’s just impossible. It’s the law of nature! You know what? Every stage of life has its own advantages, so what we need to do is just enjoy whatever each of them brings us. When we are children, however, we tend to admire adults who appear to have the full control of their lives. When we are grown up, we desire to have the fame, authority and wealth our older generation so proudly have. When we have finally reached that stage----advanced age, we seem, more often than not, to hate it. As a result, we're likely to get none of the benefits we are supposed to have. To avoid such a pathetic situation, let's fully enjoy what we naturally have in each stage, never eat in the bowl and look in the pot, as the famous Chinese saying goes.