dear mom and dad,

although we can keep in virtual¹ touch every day by means of msn or e-mails, i still feel it not enough to let you know how much i love you and how much i’ve appreciated the things you’ve done for me. i find that it will never be too much to say thank you to you, my beloved parents.

first, i want to thank you for making all your efforts to bring me up. i was told that you were short of money when i was born and it became even more difficult for a young couple to raise a child without any help from elder generation. so i appreciate your careful nursing very much for giving me a good health and the feeling of being loved.

second, i want to thank you for your good education on me. there is an old saying goes like this “parents are the first teacher to their children”. yes, you are the typical ones. you were so strict with me that i told my kindergarten teacher of my wonder about whether i was the child of yours, not the one picked up from street. touching on this soft spot deeply in my heart, vivid memories came flooding back. i won’t forget the scene of my first and also the last lie found out by you. i couldn’t stop trembling all over. i was ashamed to cry when you beat me. i thought i deserved this punishment and told myself to keep away from telling lies from then on.

i won’t forget how much you’ve impressed on me to love books and reading. even in the most difficult time, you still spared me some money for the books i was fond of. my love of books never diminished² and later led me toward writing articles myself. so many times, i have felt a sense of content when i saw your smiling faces on reading my articles, good or bad. in fact, this graduated into one of my habits of sharing everything i achieved with you and feeling content with your smiles i’m so foolish to try to write all the things you’ve done in my favor. if it is possible, this letter must be endless.

so, the most important thing that i want to say “thank you” for is your great admiration³ on my own freedom. you never forced me to do anything i was not interested in, even you had already known that i would regret not doing it. you never forbade me to do anything i was truly interested in and supported me financially and mentally. you told me to look over the horizons and to pursuit⁴ my own dreams without hesitation⁵. you also told me to consider everything carefully before getting start. oh, wherever i go, i can see your eager eyes ; whenever i am, i can touch your genuine hearts. you’ve been loving me heart and soul, how can i repay⁶ your marvelous love to me?

i really feel that my pen fails me when i am writing this thank you letter. luckily, may holiday is coming. it will give me the most excellent opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude⁷ to you----coming home and share more time together with you. yours

wang minyuan