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I thought back to his first day of kindergarten (幼儿园). How he ran in excitement to the bus as my heart broke, how his smiling face in the window caused my tears to flow. I thought about how hard it was to let go of his hand and let him fly on his own for the first time. But this time, I found it was even harder.

Kindergarten is paper and glue sticks. High school is computer projects and technology you don't understand. Kindergarten is Mother's Day gifts made with handprints. High school is a funny card and a "Love you, Ma." Kindergarten is afternoons at the park. High school is keys to the car. Kindergarten is excited talk about his day. High school is just "My day was fine, Ma."

Kindergarten is the beginning. High school is the beginning of the end. You know that your time with him at home will become less and less. The moments where your family will always feel complete at the end of the day are coming to an end. I've raised him to leave us. I've raised him to be independent (独立的), and I'm watching him pull away, one day at a time.

As I watched him board the bus to high school, my eyes filled with tears again and my heart ached more deeply than it did on his first day of kindergarten. The bus pulled away, and my eyes met his. He gave a quick wave (挥手) and mouthed, "Love you." And then he made a silly face, and he wanted his mom to go back into the house now and set her mind at rest. I waved back and laughed. High school, here we come.

Traveling to different destinations is great for learning new things, and we do enjoy exploring new parts of the world. But for a comfortable getaway, knowing what to expect when traveling to a favorite spot (地点) is priceless. My family takes vacations during spring break and other holidays as well. But during our repeat beach vacation I don't feel the need to see a world wonder or spend an entire day in a museum because it's my only chance to see amazing works of art. All that's required of me is to bring a book and a beach chair, with no fear of missing out.

My two daughters were in grade school when we started going to the Jersey Shore; now they're both married, and their husbands come along, too. My son wasn't born yet the first time we rented a beach house; now he's a teen learning to surf. As the family grows, we add to our list of family activities. There are games ranging from basketball to competitive card games.

One added advantage of repeatedly visiting the same place is being able to explore it in a way we could never do with only a one-time visit. On our seven-mile beach island, this means we've had time to spend exploring the wetlands and bird-wildlife refuges (保护区) that are unique to the area but don't necessarily make the list of top beach activities for first-timers. We've explored up and down the coast and found our favorite spots to bike, fish, and eat.

Following the birds wasn't easy since hummingbirds move so quickly, but I saw that each one usually headed in the same direction. I headed after them and discovered that they were going to perch (栖息) on small branches (树枝). One male hummingbird (which I'd like to call Buzz) would sit on the same perch almost every time he left the feeder. Wanting to understand what Buzz was doing, I slowly walked closer to his perch.

I moved just a few feet at a time and waited several minutes before stepping closer. Soon I was close enough to take good pictures, and I began to watch what he did.

Buzz usually sat where he could see the feeder. Anytime he saw another hummingbird coming to feed, he left the perch and chased (赶) the other bird away. Buzz didn't want to share with anybody!

The bird seemed to prefer different perches for different times of the day. In the mornings and evenings, he sat close to the feeder. In the middle of the day, he sat farther away and even disappeared (消失) for short periods at noon. During these times, other hummingbirds flew in to feed without being chased away.

When Buzz was near the feeder, he always perched at exactly the same place. I set up more branches so he could sit even closer to the feeder. He had always chosen dead branches with no leaves on them, so that's what I used to get him closer. It worked!

Now every morning and every evening Buzz sits within two or three feet of his feeder and guards his food. I fill the feeder, and he almost seems to pose for the cameral.