It was at Cornell that I met Jim, my future husband. He is the son of Chinese immigrants, and we found that our families shared many common values. We moved back to Cincinnati to be close to my parents, and our three children were born there.

Nicholas was born in 1985. He was always trying to understand how things worked. When he was five, he started taking apart telephones and answering machines. By the time he was eight, he was fixing them. When he was 12, he started taking apart old computers. By the time he was fourteen he was fixing them. Nicholas is now 24, has graduated from Stanford University, and is learning Mandarin in Beijing.

Jane was born two years after Nick. When she turned four, I realized that she could read. She spent much of her childhood immersed in the world of books. Now Jane is my best reader and editor. She's not afraid to tell me if one of my stories is so bad that it needs to be scrapped. She also is very enthusiastic when she likes my work. Jane is 22 and interning in London.

Ann was born smiling. She used to pretend a lot when she was little, either by herself or with her sister and brother. Now she is 19 and a sophomore at Harvard College where she is studying hard. In addition to volunteer teaching in an urban youth program, she loves to dance, draw, and play the piano.

Five years ago we got Irvy, our cat. The lady who found her told us she was a lap cat, but that's not usually true. Irvy definitely has a mind of her own. When she feels like it, she sits on our laps; when she doesn't, she likes to go outside and catch things. We are all crazy about her.