Once upon a time 小时趣事

The TV program called "Let's Dance!" Season 2 started last month. I finally caught up on all the episodes today. I enjoy the show very much! I envy those kids so very much! How I wonder what would have happened if I were able to have such a chance when I was a tomboy! But all that was impossible! 

The show gathers 14 kids who love street dance and 5 masters - Shifu in Chinese - with different styles in a street dance training camp. Through dance instruction and living together, they establish a sincere friendship between teachers and students, improve their dance skills, create their own street dance work, and inherit the spirit of street dance. 

I was born in an extremely poor village in middle-northern China. There were no toys to play with, no books to read. We kids exhausted our endless energy by doing whatever simple stuff we could do, like climbing the threes. Back then there were still big, even giant trees growing in the neighborhood. I still believe till now there are dryads living on the big trees, just like what was shown in the movie Avatar. I heard many stories from mom and other villagers about the mysterious tree goddesses.  I always wondered if I would see a tree child playing somewhere in the tree branches, especially at night under the stars. There were no books to read so all the stories I've known were from people's stories.  

My father lived in a city 1600km away from our village. We four siblings stayed with our mother. We only saw our father once a year around the Spring Festival.  Other than that we never saw him. I remember vividly my mother crying out loud in our home while surrounded by some neighbor women trying to comfort her.  But she just kept weeping. Without knowing anything I'd known she cried because of my father. Lots of things I didn't understand. However, there was a seed planted in my little heart. I did not like to have a man like my father existing in my family, in my life. 

I always wanted to protect my mother. Someday she wouldn't have to cry. She wouldn't need to beg for money from him. I was a very tough girl, but I never thought that I was a girl. I still think somehow my mother must have made a genetic mistake when she gave birth to my older brother and I, although we were five years apart. I should have been a boy, my older brother was in fact a girl. 

Well, I have to stop writing now. It's time for me to practice yoga. Since July I have made tremendous progress on the arm balances and inversions, which was not the focus of my practice in the past years. I feel so cheerful, strong, and younger! It's hard to believe I will be hitting fifty seven in a few months. Let's go and do some yoga! 

电视节目“师傅！我要跳舞了！”第 2 季是上个月开始的，今天我终于赶上了所有剧集。太喜欢这个节目了！太羡慕那些孩子了！好想知道如果我还是个假小子的时候，要有这样的机会可能会怎么样呢！这个节目聚集了14位热爱街舞的孩子和5位不同风格的大师在街舞训练营中。通过舞蹈教学和共同生活，他们在师生之间会建立真挚的友谊，提高舞蹈技能，创作自己的街舞作品，传承街舞精神。

 

我出生在中国中北部一个极其贫困的村庄。没有玩具可以玩，没有书可以看。我们这些孩子想尽办法做任何事情来消耗无尽的能量，比如攀树。那时我们村还长着很多大树老树。直到现在我仍然相信有树精生活在大树上，就像电影阿凡达中展示的那样。从妈妈和其他村民那里听到了许多仙家树神的故事。在布满星空的夜晚说不定我会遇到一个树神家的孩子在树杈上玩耍。那时候没有书可以读，我所知道的所有故事都是从大人口中听来的。

 

我爸住在离我们村1600公里以外的一个城市。我们四个兄弟姐妹和我妈住在村里。我们只能在春节前后见到父亲一次。记得好几次我妈在家里哇哇大哭，围着她的是邻居的婶婶嫂嫂们在劝她安慰她。但我妈她只是不停地哭。我不知道她为什么哭但肯定是因为我爸。很多东西我不明白但在我小小的心里种下了一颗种子，不喜欢有一个像我父亲这样的男人存在于我的家庭、我的生活中。

 

我一直想保护我妈。总有一天她不会哭的。她不需要向他要钱。我是一个非常坚强的女孩，实际上我从来没有想过我是一个女孩就该软弱。我坚信我妈在生我和我哥时犯了一个基因错误，尽管我们相隔五年。我应该是个男孩我哥应该是个女孩。

 

哎呀现在必须停笔了。练瑜伽时间到！自今年 7 月以来我在手臂平衡和倒立方面取得了巨大进步。这并不是我过去几年练瑜伽的重点。现在我感到如此开朗、强壮和年轻！很难相信再过几个月我就要到五十七岁了。练瑜伽去咯！ 

（初稿于2021-08-17）

[松鼠跪鱼]

回复 'diaozhi' 的评论 : 没关系。那也是瑜伽;-）

[diaozhi]

喔噻 - 让我佩服得五体投地！

也想只佩服到两手投地，可我不会瑜伽 - 五体投地实属不得已！