You Make Choices That Are Good And

When I Knew I Couldn't Suffer Another Moment Of Pain, And Tears Fell On My Bloody Bindings, My Mother Spoke Softly Into My Ear, Encouraging Me To Go One More Hour, One More Day, One More Week, Reminding Me Of The Rewards I Would Have If I Carried On A Little Longer. In This Way, She Taught Me How To Endure — Not Just The Physical Trials Of Footbinding And Childbearing But The More Torturous Pain Of The Heart, Mind, And Soul.

Our Words Had To Be Circumspect. We Could Not Write Anything Too Negative About Our Circumstances. This Was Tricky, Since The Very Form Of A Married Woman's Letter Needed To Include The Usual Complaints -- That We Were Pathetic, Powerless, Worked To The Bone, Homesick, And Sad. We Were Supposed To Speak Directly About Our Feelings Without Appearing Ungrateful, No-account, Or Unfilial.

How Can We Not Create A Fantasy In Our Minds When The Reality Is So Hard?

In Every Message She Spoke Of Birds, Of Flight, Of The World Away. Even Back Then, She Flew Against What Was Presented To Her. I Wanted To Cling To Her Wings And Soar, No Matter How Intimidated I Was.

When The Sun Is Shining, Think Of The Time It Won't Be, Because Even When You're Sitting In Your House With The Doors Shut, Misfortune Can Fall From Above. Page 279