Ms. Ma was the only dayshift teacher in the childcare whom I still have vivid memory about. She was young, pretty, energetic and patient, and she has stayed that way in my memory even though I am now almost the twice her then age. Thinking of her makes me feel very young myself and adored. She made us believe that she did not know the word mad and sad because she never demonstrated her ability of being able to get either mad or sad. Her smiling face delighted us, encouraged us and comforted us. Now as a mother of a 19-year-old, I admire her for that for now I realize that one has to possess of excellent personalities to be loved by a whole group of tiny kids for very long time, even after the kids have grown up.
She was particularly favored for her two long, beautiful plaits that went far below her waist. They dropped to her front and swayed between her and the kids when she bent down to talk to us. We liked to watch her twist her head with a quick jerk, then with the borrowed force from straightening up her back one plait swung to the side, making a curving arch before landing on her back. She would either repeat the same twisting and swinging with the other plait or simply grip on the rubber band that tied up her hair at the near end of the plait and, with a swift throw, it went to join the other one on her back.
She left the childcare and worked in another unit of the factory after I went to the elementary school. I still met her now and then somewhere in the factory. She would smile at me and start a small chat, “Qingeeer, what are you doing here now? How is your school?” As usual she wouldn’t be bothered with Xiao, always skipping it.
