Beijing has been freezing lately. Riding my scooter felt like the wind was slashing at my face. After badminton, the cold cut straight to the bone. I considered buying a helmet but couldn’t decide between a scooter helmet or a motorcycle one, so I chose to sleep on it. That night, the first snow of the season quietly fell over Beijing.
Work focused on code review and addressing feedback. The PM flagged some serious issues with a detailed video showing real-world scenarios. I spent the day reproducing and resolving the problems. Although time-consuming, the process was rewarding.
In the morning, Xiaoyan took Hamer to school—we’ve been alternating this task these two weeks. After getting up, I made breakfast, tidied up, and read a few pages of a book. Xiaoyan teased me, “Pretending to be literary?” We laughed as she did her makeup. When she heard a Korean song playing, she said, “We should visit Korea since you’re so into K-culture!” Later, she noticed Hamer’s dirty socks still lying on the mat. I had picked them up earlier but absent-mindedly put them back down. She stared at them, wide-eyed, then burst into laughter, saying, “So it’s true—when people are speechless, they really do laugh!”
At noon, I read Positive Discipline and reflected on its sections about “natural consequences” and “logical consequences.” It explained the value of letting children experience the outcomes of their actions or collaboratively developing solutions instead of using punishment. This gave me new insight into how I could guide Hamer more effectively. I had planned to read this section with her, but we both ended up busy.
