My Most Unforgettable Character
佚名/Anonymous
Mama’s face was radiant with pride.I knew that everything we had achieved or would achieve was because of my parents.
When we were young children, my mother was, especially, our mentor.Not until I became an adult did I realize how special she was.
Delight in Devotion.My mother was born in a small town in northern Italy.She was three when her parents immigrated to this country in 1926.They lived on Chicago’s South Side, where my grandfather worked making ice cream.
Mama thrived in the hectic urban environment.At 16, she graduated first in her high-school class, went on to secretarial school, and finally worked as an executive secretary for a railroad company.
She was beautiful too.When a local photographer used her pictures in his monthly window display, she was flattered.Her favorite portrait showed her sitting by Lake Michigan, her hair windblown, her gaze reaching toward the horizon.My mother always used to say that when you died, God gave you back your“best self.”She’d show us that picture and say,“This is what I’m going to look like in heaven.”
My parents were married in 1944.Dad was a quiet and intelligent man who was 17 when he left Italy.Soon after, a hit-and-run accident left him with a permanent limp.Dad worked hard selling candy to Chicago office workers on their break.He had little formal schooling.His English was self-taught.Yet he eventually built a small, successful wholesale candy business.Dad was generous, handsome and deeply religious.Mama was devoted to him.
After she married, my mother quit her job and gave herself to her family.In 1950, with three children, Dad moved the family to a farm 40 miles from Chicago.He worked the land and commuted to the city to run his business.Mama said good-by to her parents and friends and traded her busy city neighborhood for a more isolated life.But she never complained.By 1958, our modest white farmhouse was filled with six children, and Mama was delighted.
Think Big.My mother never studied books on parenting.Yet she knew how to raise children.She heightened our self-esteem and helped us reach our potential.
One fall day, I sat at the kitchen table while Mama peeled potatoes.She spied Dad out the window on his tractor and smiled.“Your father has accomplished so much.”she said proudly.“He really is somebody.”
My mother wanted each of us to be somebody too.“Your challenge is to be everything you can.Mine is to help.”she always said.
She read to us every day and used homemade flash cards to teach us phonetics.She bolstered our confidence, praising even our most ordinary accomplishments.When I was ten, I painted a stack of wooden crates white and nailed them together to make a wobbly bookcase.“It’s wonderful!”Mama exclaimed.“Just what we need.”She used it for many years.
In the dining room are two paint-by-number pictures that my sister Gloria and brother Leo did as kids.Several years ago, Leo commented that the pictures weren’t very good and offered to take them down.But Mama wouldn’t hear of it.“They are there to remind you how much you could accomplish even as children.”she said.
From the very beginning, she urged us to think big.One day, after visiting our grandparents on the South Side, she made Dad detour past the Prudential Building construction site.Mama explained that when finished, the 41-story building would be Chicago’s tallest.“Maybe someday one of you can design a building like this.”she said.
Her confidence in us was infectious.When my sister Carla was 12, she announced she was going to be a lawyer.
“You can do that.”Mama said.“You can do anything you put your mind to.”
Tour Guide.To Mama, education was a key part of her blueprint for success.Four of us went to a nearby, one-room school-house.My mother made up for its shortcomings by getting us educational toys, talking to us about history, politics and current events, and helping with home-work.The best part of getting a good report card was her unstinting praise.
When I was in the third grade, she urged our teacher to organize a field trip to Chicago museums.My mother helped the teacher rent a bus and plan the trip.She even served as tour guide, pointing out landmarks and recounting local history.
When it came time to think about college, there was never a question that we’d all go.Inspired by our parents’sacrifice, we studied hard to earn scholarships, and applied for grants and financial aid.We also took jobs to earn money for school.Working in a grocery store, I learned the value of a dollar.“Work is a blessing.”Mama always reminded us.
She never asked for anything for herself.“You don’t have to buy me a birthday present.”she said one time.“Instead write me a letter about yourself.Tell me about your life.Is anything worrying you? Are you happy?”...
媽媽的臉上洋溢著驕傲的光芒。我知道，我們所取得的和將要取得的每一點成就，都是我們的父母所賜。
在我們還是小孩子的時候，媽媽便是我們的良師益友。直到我長大成人，才意識到她是多麽不平凡。
甘於奉獻。母親是在意大利北部的一個小鎮出生的。1926年，她的父母移民到這個國家的時候，她才3歲。他們一家居住在芝加哥南區，在那裏，我的外祖父做著冰淇淋生意。
在這個喧囂的都市氛圍中，媽媽茁壯成長著。16歲的時候，她以第一名的成績從高中畢業，進入到文秘學校學習，並最終在鐵路公司做行政秘書工作。
媽媽長得也很漂亮。當地的一位攝影師用她的照片做每月的櫥窗展示，這令媽媽的心裏美滋滋的。她最喜歡那張坐在密歇根湖畔的照片，照片上她眺望著遠方，頭發被風吹拂著。媽媽常說，一個人死去的時候，上帝就會將“最完美的自我”歸還給他。她喜歡拿這張照片給我們看，她說：“這就是我在天堂的樣子。”
媽媽在1944年與父親結了婚。父親雖然少言寡語，卻是一個很聰明的人。他17歲便離開了意大利。之後不久，他遭遇了一場肇事司機逃逸的交通事故，而這次事故讓他永遠成了跛腳。父親在芝加哥辦公大樓裏的工作人員休息的時候，向他們兜售糖果，他很勤奮地工作著。父親沒受過什麽正規的教育，他的英語都是自學的。然而，他終於有了一家自己的小店，成功地做著糖果批發生意。爸爸不僅慷慨大方、相貌堂堂，還是一個虔誠的教徒。媽媽深深地愛上了他。
結婚後，媽媽辭去工作，做起了家庭主婦。1950年，父親帶著母親和3個孩子搬到一片農場居住，那裏距離芝加哥有40英裏。他既要做農田裏的活，還要去城裏做生意。媽媽離開她的父母和朋友，告別身邊喧囂的城市，過起了離群索居的生活。然而，母親從來沒有抱怨過。到了1958年，我們這座簡樸的農舍裏有了6個孩子，母親很高興。
胸懷大誌。媽媽從來沒有看過育兒方麵的書籍，但她知道該如何養育她的孩子們。她提升我們的自尊心，幫助我們發揮自己的潛能。
秋日裏的一天，我坐在餐桌前，媽媽正削著土豆皮。她透過窗子看到爸爸坐在拖拉機上笑了，她自豪地說：“你爸爸取得了這麽多的成就，他真是個了不起的人！”
媽媽希望我們每個人也都能成為了不起的人。她總是說：“你們的挑戰就是做你能做之事，而我的挑戰則是幫助你們去完成它們。”
她每天都會讀書給我們聽，還用自製的卡片教我們學語音。對於我們取得的最普通的小成就，母親也會進行表揚，以此來增強我們的信心。10歲的時候，我把一堆木板塗成白色，把他們釘在一起製成了一個不牢固的書架。“太棒了！”媽媽稱讚道，“我們正需要一個書架呢！”這個搖搖晃晃的書架母親一用就是很多年。
我家的餐廳裏掛著兩張按數字塗顏色的畫，那是姐姐格羅麗亞和哥哥利歐小時候畫的。幾年前，利歐說那兩幅畫不是很好看，提議把它們取下來，母親沒有同意。她說：“它們掛在那裏是要提醒你們，孩提時的你們也是那麽的能幹。”
從一開始，母親就要求我們要胸懷大誌。一天，在看望過居住在南區的外祖父母之後，母親讓父親繞路而行，帶著我們?過普魯登希爾大廈的施工場地。母親為我們解釋說，工程竣工後，這座41層的大樓將成為芝加哥最高的建築物。“或許有一天，你們當中的人也能設計出這樣的建築物。”
母親對我們的信心深深地感染了我們。12歲的姐姐卡拉宣稱，她將來要成為一名律師。
“你一定能的。世上無難事，隻怕有心人。”媽媽對她說。
人生向導。對於媽媽而言，教育是她成功藍圖的一個重要部分。我們四兄妹去了附近隻有一間教室的學校上學。通過為我們找來一些有教育意義的玩具，同我們一起探討曆史、政治和時事，幫助我們做好作業，母親為我們彌補了學校教學的不足之處。取得優異成績後，她對我們的讚揚是最好的事情。
當我讀到三年級的時候，母親勸說我們的老師組織一次芝加哥博物館的實地參觀。她還幫老師租借了汽車，安排了行程。母親甚至還當起了向導，指出一些標誌性建築，講述了當地曆史。
到該考慮上大學的事情時，我們毫無疑問的都要去上。我們被父母作出的犧牲鼓舞著，大家都努力地學習以獲得學士學位，申請助學金和財政補助。我們也都找了工作，自己掙錢上學。在一家雜貨鋪打工的過程中，我懂得了一美元所包含的價值。母親總是提醒我們牢記：“工作就是幸福。”
母親從來不向我們索求什麽。有一次，她說：“你們不需要為我買什麽生日禮物，隻要給我寫封信，跟我講講你們的生活就行了。讓我知道你們有沒有煩心事？你們過得快不快樂？”
1.在我們還是小孩子的時候，媽媽便是我們的良師益友。直到我長大成人，才意識到她是多麽不平凡。
2.世上無難事，隻怕有心人。
3.母親總是提醒我們牢記：“工作就是幸福。”
1.immigrate to: If you want to immigrate to that country, you must prepare lots of things.
2.confidence in: If you have confidence in the job, you should make a great effort beforehand.