I am my mother’s third child. When I was born, the doctor gently explained to my mother that my left arm was missing, below the elbow. Then he gave her some advice: “Don’t treat her any differently from the other girls. Demand more.” And she did!
My mother had to work to support our family. There were five girls in our family and we all had to help out. Once when I was about seven, I came out of the kitchen, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I only have one hand.”
“You go back to peel these potatoes, and don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
Of course I could peel potatoes — with my good hand, while holding them down with the other arm. There was always a way, and Mom knew it. “If you try hard enough,” she’d say, “you can do anything.”
Once in the second grade, our teacher had each of us race across the monkey bars. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids laughed. I went home crying. After work the next afternoon, Mom took me back to the school playground.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I practiced, and she praised me when I made progress. I’ll never forget the next time when I was crossing the bars. The kids were standing there with their mouths open.
It was the way with everything. When I fear I can’t handle things, I see Mom’s smile. She had the heart to face anything. And she taught me I could, too.
【助读词汇】
-elbow n. 肘
-peel v. 剥，削，剥落
-handle n. 柄，把手 vt. 处理，操作vi. 易于操纵
【参考译文】
我是我妈妈的第三个孩子。我刚出生，医生温和地对我妈妈解释说，我左肘以下没有手臂。随后他建议：“对待她就像对待其他女儿一样，不要有所不同，而且要对她要求更多些。”她照办了。
我妈妈不得不工作来养家糊口。在家中有我们5个女孩，我们都得帮着干活。我大约7岁时，有一回，我从厨房里出来说：“妈妈，我没法削土豆皮，我只有一只手。”
“你进厨房削土豆去，再不要拿这个做借口！”
当然，我能削土豆皮——用左胳臂按着，用好的手削。办法总是有的，这我妈妈清楚。她总是说：“只要你尽力设法去做，什么事都能办到。”
上二年级时，我们的老师叫我们班同学列队在操场上进行猴架比赛，从一个高杠悬荡到下一个杠。轮到我的时候，我摇摇头。身后有些同学发出笑声。我哭着回到家。第二天下午妈妈工作完后带着我回到学校。在空无一人的操场上，她仔细地瞧着猴架的杠子。
“现在用你的右胳臂拽自己上去，”她给我出主意。她在一旁站着，我奋力用右手把自己拉上去，直到我能用左肘弯勾住杠子。一天又一天这么练着，我每荡过一个杠子她都表扬我。我永远不会忘记全班再次列队站在猴架旁的情景。我荡过一个又一个杠子，同学们站在那里惊讶得张开了嘴。
做什么事都这样。当我担心没有能力处理好事情时，便又看到她那灿烂的笑容。她有决心面对任何事情，她教我认识到我也能面对任何事情。
【人生启迪】
《周易》里有这样一句话——天行健，君子以自强不息；地势坤，君子以厚德载物。因为自信，所以感觉生活美好！当然，一个自信的人，并非事事顺心，事事如意，只是她在灵魂上开了一扇天窗，让阳光从窗口飘进来，即便是阴雨的天，她也学会了创造太阳，那个太阳就是对自己有信心。