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The tourism phenomenon (cause) by Harbin, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, shows no sign of fading. Recently, the ice city (lead) to fierce competition among tourism authorities in several cities. More (interesting) , the video of the leaders of local tourism dancing with performers has entertained millions of netizens (网民) .

Diligent (effort) that were made by Harbin (attract) tourists to the city were heads of local tourist joined by netizens across the country, who discussed about the exceptional skills possessed by their own office, all to achieve similar success in their own cities. 

Starting from January 9th  January 12th, the official account of the Department of Tourism of Henan Province has seen  increase in the number of videos being posted, with more than 30 clips released per day. So the tourism authorities in Shanxi and Shandong provinces find  a must to promote their tourism resources on social media. Winter, the (tradition) tourism off-season, draws new tourism fever,  shows the fast tourism development in China.

Last year, I started the journey of being a remote product designer. The thought of a 1 schedule, a comfortable home office, and the escape from the crowded public transport was incredibly 2 . The first few weeks were filled with a long-lost feeling of3 .

However, the 4 of working from home gradually set in. I had started my day with the best intentions, promising myself quick breaks and regular5 . But deadlines, endless emails, and virtual meetings 6 me to my computer throughout the day, leaving me little time to 7 . Gone were the short walks to a colleague's desk and the quick lunchtime walks around the office complex. Finally, my world was8 to the walls of my home, my steps 9 in mere meters rather than kilometers.

One day, I tried 10 one of my favorite dresses and it wasn't passing through my waist at all. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I saw a 11 person carrying extra weight, rather than someone enjoying freedom. The12 of work and personal life had left me feeling like I was a never ending motion machine.

This incident marked the13  of a journey of self-discovery. I made up my mind that I needed a(n)14  not just for my waistline but for my overall well-being. It was a promise to prioritize my physical and mental health, and a commitment that I could 15  control over my life and my body.

It happens from time to time that after a whole morning of studying, you are tired in the afternoon. It is then that you may want to eat something sweet, perhaps a sweet drink or a chocolate bar to lift your mood. 

But a study suggests that sugar can make you feel worse rather than lift your mood. The German and UK researchers collected data from 31 studies involving nearly 1,300 adults.  Those emotions include anger, alertness, depression and tiredness. They found that people who have too much sugar become more tired and less alert within an hour, and that these feelings become more intense over time. 

According to researchers when people take in sugar, their blood sugar levels rise rapidly, leading to a burst of energy and a short "feel good" period. However, as they begin to digest the sugar, their blood sugar levels decrease quickly, leading to a bad feeling. As with caffeine, this prevents the body from relaxing, leaving people being tired and less alert.

 According to WHO, it is healthy to have the sugars found naturally in fruit, vegetables and milk, so long as they make up less than 5 percent of our daily total energy intake. 

So the next time you feel tired and can't concentrate on study and work, perhaps you should think twice before you bite into a chocolate bar. There are still other ways to relieve tiredness.

A. Maybe a little exercise at midday is a better idea.

B. So cutting sweet food out of the diet is a good choice.

C. hey studied the effect of sugar on some aspects of mood.

D. After all, it's believed that a "sugar rush" gives you energy.

E. Sugar in any form is not necessarily good for the human body.

F. But the result of the study doesn't mean giving up sweet food altogether.

G. To remain on a "high", people may eat more sugar until they become addicted to it.

Facial recognition cameras are everywhere, including in your smartphone. Many people rely on this technology to unlock their phones, open doors or make quick payments, but everyone is wearing mask. What a trouble! 

Now, tech companies have updated their software. Facial recognition technology can now identify people even if they are wearing a mask. 

Beijing-based tech company Hanwang has announced a software which can correctly recognize 95 percent of people wearing masks, Engineering&Technology (E&T) reported. What's the secret? It's all about your eyes.

Marios Savvides, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, US, studies facial recognition technology. "As we get older," he said, "our faces change shape, but not the area around our eyes. It stays the same — even if we put on weight."

Another company has also been working on this kind of software. Tech5 has Al that measures the shape of your face. It also scans your iris (the colored part of your eyes). Tech5 hopes to ignore all of the face below the nose. 

Facial recognition software is about more than just unlocking your phone. It's about public safety. Touchless verification (验证) has become extremely important due to the COVID-19. More than that, facial recognition can be used to fight crime (犯罪). "It can detect crime suspects," said Huang Lei, Hanwang's CEO. Hanwang's technology is used by police in high-security settings. This means places like government buildings, subway stations and airports, Huang admits one big weakness of this new technology: It fails when people wear both masks and sunglasses. "In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost, but I believe we can overcome the weakness in the future," said Huang.

Mona Lisa, also called Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, Italian La Gioconda, or French La Joconde, oil painting on a wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, is probably the world's most famous painting. It was painted sometime between 1503 and 1519, when Leonardo was living in Florence, and it now hangs in the Louvre Museum, Paris, attracting people throughout the world to see it in the 21st century. The sitter's mysterious smile and her unproven identity have made the painting a source of ongoing investigation and fascination.

But at least a dozen excellent copies of the Mona Lisa exist, many of them by Leonardo's students. One such copy at the Prado Museum in Madrid was thought to have been painted years after the original. However, during the restoration of the painting in the early 2010s, which included using advanced reflexology to examine the work beneath the surface, conservators discovered that the painting had changes that mirrored those of the original. The findings suggested that the artist — likely one of the master's assistants — painted the copy as Leonardo worked on the Mona Lisa in his studio. Thus, "the Prado version" became the only known copy completed during Leonardo's lifetime. Conservators cleaned the entire painting and removed its black background, revealing a detailed landscape resembling Leonardo's version and vibrant colors, possibly arousing those of the original before the paint applied by early restorers darkened over time.

In June, a copy of the Mona Lisa is said to have been sold for a record 2.9 million euros (22 million yuan) at Christie's in Paris. The copy is believed to have been made by a follower of Leonardo da Vinci in the early 17th century and later was purchased by Harkin in 1953 from an art dealer in Nice, France, hence it got the name Heggin's Mona Lisa. High imitation is also worth money! As the art investment market heats up, various art reproductions continue to emerge. Collectors have not rejected these fine copies, some of which have not only made it into the house, but also sold for high prices. Is it really worth it to pay a high price for an art reproduction? This issue is getting more and more attention from collectors.

In today's world, cultural heritage — a term Yale University President Peter Salovey referred to as "the record of humanity" — is increasingly under attack by threats ranging from climate change, theft, mass tourism, and war. Historic buildings, works of art, traditions, and even local languages are disappearing at an increasingly rapid rate.

Yale is leading a new organization, the Global Consortium for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (GCPCH), to work on the preservation of cultural heritage. The first official meeting of the organization took place in Milan, Italy, which gathered 36 international university officials and experts from around the world to determine next steps for advancing GCPCH's mission(使命).

During the meeting, experts and officials determined that the mission of GCPCH is to share knowledge and to promote relationships between the parties that seek to protect various forms of cultural heritage worldwide. More specifically, GCPCH will create a map of education programs and field experiences, research projects, and funding sources. 

The two-day meeting of GCPCH was hosted by Bocconi University. It kicked off with an address by UNESCO Director — General Irina Bokova. "Knowledge-sharing gets all stakeholders(有利益关系者) involved at a global level," said Bokova in her inspiring speech. "Together we need to strengthen the networks and build more bridges between all actors."

Stefano Baia Curioni, vice-president of ASK Research Center of Bocconi University. commented on what an honor it was for Bocconi to host the meeting. "It is with great pleasure that we gather such a set of leaders who bring so many valuable points of view on challenges related to the preservation of cultural heritage," Baia Curioni said. "We know how important the work of this body is to advancing our collective work, and are honored to support such efforts."

Museum of Brands

Do you remember Watney's Party Seven? Do you hope to enjoy the taste of Spangles? Could you still sing the Fairy Liquid song? Surround yourself with objects of your childhood and find your memories in our Time Tunnel at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, Notting Hill, near Portobello Road Market.

£7.50; Tue-Sat: 10:00-18:00 Sun: 11:00-17:00 Closed Mon. 

Garden Museum

The Garden Museum is the only museum in the UK to celebrate the art, design and history of gardens. It holds three temporary exhibitions each year, and an exciting programme of over 30 events. Visitors can also see an exhibition of paintings and tools all year round and experience the British love for gardens. 

£10.00; Sun-Mon: 10:30-17:00 Sat: 10:30-16:00

Foundling Museum

The Founding Museum shows the history of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first children's charity and first public art gallery. And through an exciting programme of. exhibitions and events, it celebrates the ways in which lots of artists have helped improve children s lives for over 270 years.

£8.25; Tue-Sat: 10:00-17:00 Sun: 11:00-17:00 Closed Mon. 

Cartoon Museum

See great British cartoon art from Steve Bell and Matt, Ronald Searle and Manga to favourite characters like Dennis the Menace and Andy Capp. Something for everyone — including a great shop full of funny books and Cards. 

£7.00; Mon-Sat: 10:30-17:30 Sun: 12:00-17:30

Meagan and her close friend Samantha, both school teachers, lived together in an apartment in Denver. On mornings when Samantha had class, Meagan would help to watch her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah. Also part of the household was Meagan's pet, Willie, a particularly intelligent and chatty parrot.

Willie was indeed funny and a good talker. In addition to some vocabulary learned from Meagan, he became a great mimic (会模仿的动物) of cats, dogs, and chickens. Plus, he could sing along to the radio. The bird was a nice playmate for the little girl, and he always knew how to lift her spirits. The bird was more than just a pet; he was a member of the family.

One day, with Samantha at school, Hannah had comfortably positioned herself in front of morning cartoons while Meagan was busy cooking in the kitchen, preparing the little girl her favorite breakfast treat, an apple pie. When Meagan was done baking the apple pie, she placed it at the center of the kitchen table to cool. She looked at Hannah and, confident the child was fully engaged with the TV, walked out of the kitchen quickly to use the bathroom.

Meagan was gone maybe 30 seconds. And suddenly, she heard the bird going crazy, screaming loudly. She heard two very distinct words from the parrot's mouth. "Mama! Baby!" Repeated over and over again. "Mama! Baby! Mama! Baby!"

Meagan ran out of the bathroom to find Hannah in the kitchen, holding the partly eaten apple pie, fighting for breath, her face and lips a terrifying shade of blue. And Willie was still screaming loudly.Hannah had climbed up on a chair, gotten the apple pie from the kitchen table and was clearly choking on it.

注意：

1.续写词数应为150左右；

2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

With a pounding heart, Meagan grabbed Hannah immediately.

Around lunchtime, Samantha came back from school.

内容包括： 

1. 时间地点；

2. 比赛内容；

3. 欢迎参加。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

NOTICE

Fairy-tale ice sculptures attract hundreds of thousands of tourists into China's Harbin.China's annual Ice and Snow Festival, with (it) fairy-tale ice sculptures, opened on Friday, drawing large crowds of tourists who walked carefully over the (slip) ice and snow. This year the ice park covers 810, 000 square meters with 250, 000 cubic meters of sculptured ice (harvest) from the nearby frozen Songhua River, and lit up at night with colourful lights.

The sculptures, some of were a-few-storey-high, featured Chinese style buildings and bridges, fairy-tale castles, towers and one modeled after Beijing's Temple of Heaven. All of them left a deep (impress) on the visitors.

The festival's marketing vice director Sun Zemin told Reuters the average number of people visiting the park daily has increased (significant) to around 30,000 this year. Over the past few days, the festival park (receive) more than 163, 200 people, (generate) 46. 18 million yuan ($6 45 million) in income, nearly six times higher a year ago. That helped draw some 3.05 million tourists to the city during the same period, and Heilongjiang's Culture and Tourism Department called the tourist boom "ice and snow miracle" in Harbin this winter.

My son just turned 14 and does not have a smartphone. When he graduated from Grade 8 he was the only kid in his class without one. He asks for a phone1 he's going to high school. I say no, he asks why, I explain ( yet again ), and he pushes back.

"You can choose to do things2 when you're a parent，"I told him. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm being too stubborn or unfair. However, the more researches I do, the more3 I feel in my decision. Many studies4 the current mental health crisis among adolescents to fundamental changes in the5 from in-person to online interaction.

But other parents6 my idea. "He must feel so left out !" Then there are the parents who tell me with7 that they wish they had put off their teenager's phone ownership longer than they did. They urge me to8 .

If teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 are truly spending an average of 8 hours 39 minutes per day on their devices, then what are they not doing? Kids9 in their devices are missing out on real life, and that strikes me as really sad. I want my son to have a childhood he feels10  with and proud of. I want it to be full of11 ，imaginative play and physical challenges which he must sort out himself without asking for me at the push of a button. The easiest and simplest way to achieve these goals is to12  giving him a smartphone.

Some think my son is missing out or falling behind, but he is not. He does well in school, hangs out with his friends in person, and moves around our small town13 .

He swears he'll give his own 14-year old a phone someday, and I tell him that's fine. But recently, he14 that he missed the beautiful scenery on a drive to a nearby mountain because he had been so abandoned to his friend's iPad. If that is his version of admitting I'm15 I'll take it.

Parkour Around a City

There are many ways to travel within a city. But no matter which way we travel, we have to follow the route the city planners laid down for us.

 To them, there are no designed routes. There are no walls and no stairs they jump, climb and crawl to move across, through, over and under anything they find in their path.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has noticed that this activity is drawing more and more people to it—there are 100,000 people taking part in parkour (跑酷) today in the UK alone, according to The Guardian and how it is helpful for people to be much stronger: It trains coordination and balance.

But parkour enthusiasts themselves don't seem to be happy with the idea. They see parkour as "a lifestyle". Indeed, many do parkour just to escape the daily routine and experience the city in different ways. They see parkour as a way to express themselves through relaxing moves and creative routes while freeing themselves from the pressure.

It's great that the FIG wants to develop a new sport and stay close to a new cultural form. But it would be greater if they knew that not everything in life is a competition.

A. The city is their playground.

B. We can walk, cycle, or take a bus.

C. Parkour is more interesting than you ever know.

D. Parkour began in France, back in 1988, in the suburbs of Paris.

E. However, Parkour enthusiasts sce the city in a completely different way.

F. For them, it is a competition against the conditions rather than just a sport, 

G. So the FIG is thinking about recognizing parkour as a new sport and adding it to the Olympics by 2024.

Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can ruin a region's agriculture. They're also becoming increasingly common as the planet warms. In a study published in the journal Communications Earth& Environment, we found that the risk of flash droughts, which can develop in just a few weeks, is on the rise in every major agricultural region around the world in the coming decades.

In North America and Europe, cropland that had a 32% annual chance of a flash drought a few years ago could have a greater chance of a flash drought by the final decades of this century. That result would put food production, energy, and water supplies under increasing pressure. The cost of change will also rise. A flash drought in the Dakotas and Montana 2017 caused $2.6 billion in agricultural damage in America alone.

All droughts begin when rainfall stops. What's interesting about flash droughts is how fast they strengthen themselves, with some help from the warming climate. When the weather is hot and dry, soil loses moisture rapidly. Dry air extracts moisture from the land, and rising temperatures can increase this evaporative (蒸发的) demand. The lack of rain during a flash drought can further contribute to the feedback processes. Under these conditions, crops and vegetation begin to die much more quickly than they do during typical long-term droughts.

In our study, we used climate models and data from the past 170 years to assess the drought risks ahead under three conditions for how quickly the world takes action to slow the pace of global warming. If greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other human sources continue at a high rate, we found that cropland in much of North America and Europe would have a 53% annual chance of flash droughts, by the final decades of this century. Globally, the largest increases in flash droughts would be in Europe and the Amazon. Slowing emissions can reduce the risk significantly, but we found flash droughts would still increase by about 6% worldwide under low emission conditions.

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have invented a new way to make electricity. Their method uses super-tiny holes to make electricity from moisture (湿气) in the air. The scientists hope the method will one day lead to cheap clean electricity anywhere at any time.

Moisture in the air is what helps create electricity. Water droplets in the air carry an electric charge (电荷). In clouds, these water droplets build up large charges, which we later see as lightning. One of the researchers, Jun Yao, described the new invention as a "small-scale, man-made cloud". Since the new device generates electricity from the air, the scientists call it "Air-gen".

Currently, the device only makes a small amount of electricity- enough to power a small sensor. But in lab tests, the Air gen, which is a little bigger than a fingernail, produced electricity all day and all night for a week, powered by nothing but the air.

The scientists have tried to make electricity from humidity before, but those methods didn't work for long, or were expensive to make. But in 2020, Dr Yao and his team found a way of getting electricity from humidity using special "nanowires" made from bacteria. That research led the scientists to the key discovery of the Air-gen: almost any material can create electricity in this way as long as it has nanopores (纳米孔) of the right size. This is important because it means in the future, the devices can be made very cheaply. The researchers hope that the Air-gen will become an important green energy source.

Many scientists are impressed with the ideas behind the Air-gen. But some scientists have suggested that it might be hard for the Air-gen to create enough electricity to really make a difference especially compared to power sources like solar energy. But Dr Yao and his team are working on ways to make the Air-gen technology more powerful. Because the device is s0 thin, the scientists believe that many Air-gen layers could be piled on top of each other to create more electricity without taking up more space.

The Maryland Center for History and Culture(MCHC) is currently hosting "The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited". The exhibition spotlights Henson's unique contributions to children's education, including his creation of the Muppets (布偶).

Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland. His creative talents were evident when he was a student at high school. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theater productions. While a freshman at university, Henson made puppets for a local TV station. The station's producers were so impressed that they asked him to produce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends, the program started in 1955. Viewers loved Henson's playful characters, including an early version of Kermit the Frog.

While at university, Henson majored in home economics. At the time, it was the only major that offered classes in sewing and textiles (纺织品).Henson not only honed his creative skills at university, but he was also good at marketing and business. "He was an entrepreneur who happened to get into puppetry, " said Deborah Wood, MCHC's learning manager.

In 1959, Henson married Jane Nebel, whom be had met at university. The couple established Muppets Inc. which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Focus Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street, a popular children's television program.Generations of children around the world have grown up watching and laming from the Muppets.

Henson, who died in 1990, created not just the Muppets, but also films, TV commercials, variety shows, and more. The exhibition shows every aspect of his career. This includes some lesser-known works, including The Cube, a short experimental film that was nominated (提名) for an Academy Award.

Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Henson's creative process and inventiveness through hands-on displays. They can even make their own Muppets. "For me, I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that it covers Henson's whole life and his whole career, " said Chloe Green, public programs manager at the MCHC.

Top 4 Ecotourism Destinations in the World

Travelling often comes with an environmental cost一but by choosing to travel more responsibly and sustainably, you can help to reduce the negative effects of tourism. Here are four destinations that have already signed up to a more sustainable way of life.

Costa Rica

So, you want to escape? Imagine a country that's one -quarter national park, a place where you could hike in a rainforest in the morning and surf tropical waves in the afternoon. Imagine an adventure Eden where all kinds of unique animals run before your eyes.

That country is Costa Rica Conservation has been developed here since the 1970s, with measures to protect areas, close zooS and reverse deforestation.

About 80% of the Osa Peninsula is protected; much of it is in Corcovado National Park, where visitors can follow guided trips with local groups. Activity options range from rainforest hikes to whale-watching, diving at Isla del Cano and surfing at Cabo Matapalo.

Finland

It's a nation where 80 percent of the territory is covered by forests Meanwhile, Finland's air and water is claimed to be the clearest.

The Finish Tourist Board has launched the Sustainable Finland programme to help visitors plan the most eco-friendly travels and engage with nature and local culture, knowing every step of their trip has been looked at from an economical, ecological, social and cultural perspective.

Bhutan

Until 1974, the Kingdom of Bhutan remained closed to tourism. Then one day, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck declared Bhutan open to visitors. Today, only those who have booked guided tours through approved travel agencies can enter Bhutan. Permits are charged at a peak- season nightly rate of ＄250 per person, which includes a 37 percent tax that goes towards improving infrastructure (基础设施) and strengthening the healthcare and the education systems. This strict policy means tourism is controlled, with local life largely untouched by its impact.

Botswana

As one of the most convenient locations to spot the "Big Five", Botswana's infrastructure has long been under pressure to meet the demands of the world's safari (游猎) market. Thankfully, the team at Great Plains Safari has been taking measures to minimize impact and invest in community-based opportunities to help local villages develop. One such measure is a kids'conservation camp, where children are invited to week-long courses to learn about their surroundings, the value of conservation and the role of environmental tourism.

Short clips of the "kemusan" — or "subject three" dance — has become a latest Internet sensation on social media platforms at home and abroad. By December 10, the dance, is widely thought (originate) from a wedding dance in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, had gained more than 8.88 billion views on short video platforms.

The dance went viral quickly and has been adapted into (vary) versions — people of all colors and from different walks of life have sprung into the interesting dance. Why has "subject three" dance become instant hit? Nowadays, young people seek to express (they) in personalized and diverse ways. Young people (allow) to release mental and physical tiredness in routine life and enjoy original delight and pure (happy). Even without personal participation, holding e mobile phone to shoot or watch someone do this dance is enough to connect emotionally and feel a spiritual resonance (共鸣). "Subject three" dance meets the emotional needs of young people, provides them with an outlet to express their feelings reflects a pleasant sharing of beauty. Besides, the dance belongs no specific type, and the movements are not set, (leave) space for everyone to create their own style.

Imagine you need milk, so you go to the grocery store to pick some up, only to find there are dozens of options. These days, you have to make a decision on not only the percentage of fat you want, but also what source you want your milk to be coming from: cows, soybeans... You have no idea what milk to pick. There are so many choices that you are confused.

This phenomenon is known as the paradox (悖论) of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us. While we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases consumer satisfaction, having too many options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.

The idea was popularized by American psychologist Barry Schwartz when he published his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Schwartz, who has long studied the ways in which economics and psychology intersect (交叉), became interested in seeing the way that choices were affecting the happiness of citizens in Western societies. He identified that the range of choices that we have available to us these days is far greater than that people had in the past; however, consumer satisfaction has not increased as much as traditional economics theories might expect.

Schwartz identified that the paradox of choice carries the most consequence for people that are maximizers. Maximizers, unlike satisficers, are concerned with making the best choice instead of simply making a choice that they are happy with. When there are many options available to maximizers, it becomes harder for them to determine which is the best, which can cause them to feel a great deal of regret after they have made a choice.

Instead of believing that freedom of choice is unlimited, Schwartz advocates that the role of psychology and behavioral economics should be to find the kind of limitations on freedom that can lead to the greatest level of happiness within society.

When I saw the documentary ADHD (多动症): Not Just for Kids, I was in tears after 20 minutes — the stories being told sounded much like my own. I'm in my 40s, I had read everything there was in health and science and I had no idea that the symptoms (症状) I had experienced all of my life were anything but normal. How had I missed this? I called the doctor to get assessed. I must have sounded desperate on the phone; they took me right away.

Later, I researched everything I could about ADHD. It became clear that my misunderstanding and ignorance about the disorder had misled me. A million thoughts, a million regrets. Finally, I told myself I couldn't change the past, but I could share the fact that ADHD can look much different from the super active child practicing back flips (后空翻) off of a chair.

As for me, things went another way around: I was a young girl, quietly sitting at my school desk, pretending to listen to the teacher. Meanwhile, I was watching and drawing the bird that landed in the tree outside. And I was rereading entire chapters of my textbooks and taking extensive notes because I couldn't remember what I had just read because I was thinking of the bird I had seen earlier.

Later in life, I'd sit at the kitchen table, staring out the window. There's no telling how long it will take. Thoughts rush in from yesterday, today and tomorrow. I need to make dinner, take the dog for a walk, the kids will be home soon... But I can't move. I know that I should, but I can't. Afterward, I berate myself, unable to understand why I didn't get up, why I wasted so much precious time, so much of my life doing nothing, it seems.

Since being treated, I have an inner calmness that is new to me. Medication doesn't organize my day; it doesn't remind me to pick up the kids or walk the dog. However, it allows me to move when I've been staring out the window for too long.