When I was little, my mother worked far away in the mountains and could only come home once a month. She worked until I was in fourth grade before she could come back to the lowlands.

The three of us stay home, it's hard for the father and his two sons alone. But no matter what, the meals are always delicious, because the father cooks well and is diligent in the kitchen.

My brother and I had to learn how to cook rice since we were young. But the younger brother was lazy, always went out, and was only good at stealing food, making the older brother look dirty because he had to cook rice by himself.

Luckily, there is a motorbike repair shop near my house, so I often find some broken inner tubes. This can be burned with firewood and makes a fire very quickly, just a little burnt smell.

Back then, there was no dishwashing liquid, so dishes had to be washed with ash, loofah, and straw. I still remember those cold winter days when dishes were hard to wash because they were covered in grease. My father had to boil a pot of water to wash the dishes. Dipping them in boiling water would help the grease dissolve.

I don't know why winters used to be so cold. Maybe because I didn't wear enough warm clothes and the house wasn't windproof. Now I just wish for a winter as cold as before, but it's rare.

In the winters of the past, I remember the sweaters my mother knitted. My mother knitted yellow vests and turtleneck sweaters. But the yarn back then was very rough, not as smooth as it is now. My mother also knitted them a little too tight, so every time I put them on, it was like torture. Itchy, tight, and uncomfortable, but really warm.

Mom works far from home, every time she comes home she takes the opportunity to take her two children out to bathe. Oh my, I just wish there was a little sunshine in the winter to wash my hair to keep warm. When Mom comes home, they are clean and fragrant, but when she leaves, both of them are very dirty.

Back in the days when we lived in a thatched house, I found a small slot on the side of the house. There was a small glass bottle, which I used as a "piggy bank" to put the money my parents gave me and the money I collected from selling scrap metal. I only told my mother about that secret hiding place. I had to squeeze my body for a long time to get in, if a thief knew, he would definitely get stuck in there.

That year, I "broke the piggy bank", and got no more than a thousand dong. I went to the market to shop for Tet but didn't know what to buy because I had so little money, in the end I only bought a plastic toothpick holder. And that thatched house, I will always remember the time my younger brother lit fireworks. He didn't aim the fireworks up at the sky but aimed them right at the thatched roof. So he got scolded, but luckily the house didn't burn down.

But the stove was on fire, the stove full of firewood behind my grandparents' house. The stove caught fire when my grandfather and father were preparing to build a house. Luckily, just as the fire reached the roof, it started to rain, and the fire was extinguished.

My grandfather said it was a good omen, so we should build a house right away. I don't know if it was a good omen or not, but I found the house very cozy.

I can never forget that cold New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together to eat boiled chicken. That chicken was so soft and delicious, that feeling was so warm, happiness filled the small family. After so many years, I still remember it, still can't find that "delicious" feeling of the past.

There are still many, many stories from the past, never ending. But the smartphone era has made everything fade away, it's hard to find the same emotions as before.

In the past, everything was felt with one's own true senses. Now, most of the time is spent on phones and computers. The value of life, therefore, has faded a lot, faded completely...

Old glue

TTO - I never thought that such a simple and crude natural glue could be so strong. With just a little bit of star apple latex, my false eyelashes stick firmly, from early morning until late at night.