Chapter 2 Shanxi Communication

A few days later, through the back door of my personal therapist's house, I walked through a giant Japanese maple grove and a garden with changing seasons, and stepped into Dr. Johnson's home office.I am familiar with the changing seasons of plants in her garden, from barren daffodils to pale pink peonies to purple-topped aconites in September's melancholy.I've been taking these weekly regimens of hers for over a decade and they've come naturally to me and have given me great comfort.Therapy has been a part of my life since high school, except for brief hiatus during college and medical school.My friendship with psychoanalyst Dr. Johnson began during my first year as an intern and has continued to grow as my family has grown.When I leave home for consultations, my daughter Lila always looks at me suspiciously, shakes her head and asks, "Isn't your treatment going to end?"

Dr. Johnson's small office was filled with books and magazines such as The Interpretation of Dreams, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Families on Hot Pot, and so on.On one side of the room was a brown leather therapy bed (but I never used it because I'd rather not lie in bed) next to a sturdy rocking chair. Dr. Johnson, with his loose skin and thin wrists, was always neatly dressed in a tight-fitting knitted cardigan and brown buckled flats.Usually she would start by asking me if the room was warm enough, then she sat down in her rocking chair, which never moved, and listened keenly to me, always approaching me with an astonishing nonchalance.During this session before the December vacation, I told her that I was very excited about planning a trip to Costa Rica where we rented a house on the beach and went hiking.Also, Zoe's seventh birthday is coming up, and I'm planning to throw her a birthday party there with a pink banner and cake.I told her that when we go out together as a family in a strange place, we grow closer, that these adventures bring us closer to each other, and then I blurted out in a voice that was unfamiliar even to me: "How much I wish to travel with my mother, how I wish to know and understand her, how I wish to know what kind of person she is."

Dr. Johnson looked at me and asked casually, "Are you angry that your mother left?" I was quick to deny it, as if my anger at my mother was betraying her.For me, it's easier to see my mother as a victim.My mother played such a big role in my life that I didn't want to blame her—I was more used to blaming my surviving father. My BP machine beeped suddenly, distracting me.I put it aside without even looking at it, intending to reply to it after the session was over. Under the shade of the trees in front of the Niangniang Temple, who can you stop from watching the fun?The teacher came out, the soldiers in the army came over with their horses, and several women held hands shyly, and they also twisted and stood aside. The children scrambled to squeeze each other, watching us take pictures, and measuring the plane with a tape measure. The teacher helped We rubbed the inscription.Speaking of this and that temple, there are many years, no one can tell when it was built!There are too many people talking, and our work is really difficult, but we are all very happy. The children are holding their rice bowls and eating, while watching with wide eyes, and they don't let up at all.

When we leave, people from the whole village always come to give them to us, and the daughter-in-law points out to the old woman, and the children have to keep up for a while while running.Kaizha Town, Xiaoxiang Village, Daxiang Village, which one is not equally lively?Seeing the Beiqi Tianbao three-year statue monument, we accidentally let out a cry of surprise. The bent-backed and older people in their village also showed a smug smile, knowing that the treasures in their village were actually frightened. This is a strange visitor. "Is it too old?" They asked proudly. "A lot more." We happily replied, "It's almost 1,400 years." "Ah, 1,400 years!" We all became proud together.

Let's look at the temples rebuilt in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties here, and the temples rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty there. We discuss the uniqueness of the style, the look of the statues, the procedures, and the sky gradually darkened. We only remembered when we felt thirsty and hungry. The whole day is coming to an end.When we come back and lie on the bed, the beautiful and vivid impressions still hang in front of our eyes, guiding all kinds of pleasant dreams. At the same time, the vegetables and fruits we eat for dinner will provide us with sufficient supplies. Our energy for tomorrow will reach the big sun, the red shine in our faces.