A mother and her son learn more from failure than from victory. Her example of never giving up gave him courage for the rest of his life.

The day my mother cried.

Gerald Moore

On that dark winter day a long time ago, I came home from school, filled with expectations. I have the new issue of my favorite sports magazine under my arm, and I am the only one in the house. Dad is at work, my sister is not at home, and my mother won't be back from her new job for an hour. I jumped up the steps, rushed into the living room and turned on a light.

I was stunned by what I saw. Mother, burying her face in her hands, huddled up and sat at the other end of the sofa. She is crying. I have never seen her cry.

I approached cautiously and touched her shoulder. "Mom?" I said, "What happened?"

She took a long breath and managed to squeeze out a weak smile. "Nothing, really. Nothing important. Just like I will lose this new job. I can't type fast enough. "

"But you only went for three days," I said. "You will understand." When I was studying or doing something important to me, I repeated a sentence she had told me hundreds of times.

"No." She said sadly. "I always say that I can do anything I set my mind to do, and I still think I can do most things. But I can't do that. "

I feel helpless and out of place. At the age of 16, I still thought that my mother could do anything. A few years ago, when we sold the farm and moved to town, my mother decided to open a day care kindergarten. She has no training, but that doesn't stop her. She attended correspondence courses in child care, studied these courses, and was officially qualified for this task six months later. Before long, she had a complete registration list and waiting list. I think all this is a normal expression of a mother's ability.

But neither the nursery nor the motel my parents bought later provided enough income for my sister and me to go to college. Two years later, I will be ready for college. In three days, my sister will want to go. Time is running out, and mother is anxious to find a way to save money. Obviously, my father can't do anything more-besides working full time, he has to farm 80 acres of land.

A few months after we sold the motel, mother came home with an old typewriter. It jumps between some letters and the keyboard is soft. At dinner that night, I declared that this machine was "a piece of garbage"

"This is what we can afford," said mother. "Good enough to continue studying." From that day on, as soon as the table is cleared and the dishes are washed, mother will disappear in her sewing room to practice. Slow taps, taps, taps last until midnight.

It was almost Christmas when I heard that my mother had got a job in the radio station. I'm not surprised or moved at all. But she was ecstatic.

On Monday, after her first day at work, I could see that the excitement had disappeared. Mother looks exhausted. My reaction was to ignore her.

On Tuesday, my father cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen. Mother stayed in her sewing room to practice. "Is mom okay?" I asked dad.

"She has some difficulty in typing," he said. "She needs to practice. I think she would appreciate it if we could all help a little more. "

"I've done a lot," I said, immediately alert.

"I know you want to," Dad said quietly. "You may need to do more. You may just need to remember that she is mainly working so that you can go to college. "

I really don't care. I hope she will forget the whole thing.

On Wednesday, when I found my mother crying, I was shocked and embarrassed. This is a perfect indicator, which shows how little I know about the pressure she is under. Sitting on the sofa next to her, I began to understand slowly.

"I think we always fail," mother said quietly. I can feel her pain and the tension to suppress the strong emotions interrupted by my arrival. Suddenly, something inside me changed. I reached out and put my arms around her.

She's broke. She leaned her face on my shoulder and sobbed. I closed the door for her without trying to talk. I know I'm doing what I should do, what I can do, that's enough. At that moment, I felt my mother's back tortured by emotion, and I understood her fragility for the first time. She is still my mother, but she is more than that: a person like me has the ability to be afraid, hurt and fail. I can feel her pain, just as I have sought comfort in her arms countless times, she must also feel my pain.

A week later, my mother found a job selling textiles, and the salary was only half that provided by the radio station. "This is the work I can do," she said simply. But the practice class on the old green typewriter continued at night. One night, when I passed by her door and heard her tapping on the door, I had a completely different feeling. I know there are more things happening there than a woman learning to type.

Two years later, I left home to go to college, and my mother found an office job with higher salary and greater responsibility. I have to believe that in some strange way, she learned as much from her success as I did, because a few years later, when I finished my studies and proudly accepted a job as a newspaper reporter, she had been a reporter in our hometown newspaper for six months.

The old green typewriter is now in my office and has not been repaired. This is a souvenir, but it reminds me of something different from what my mother reminds me of. When I encounter difficulties in a story and want to give up, or when I start to feel sorry for myself and think things should be easier for me, I roll a piece of paper into that weird old machine and type painfully word by word, just like my mother. What I remember at that time was not her failure, but her courage and courage to go forward.

This is the best souvenir someone gave me.

new word

hope

Noun (short for noun) expectation

Expectations

transitive verb

question

Distribution of publications

vitality

Transitive verbs are put or pushed into a desired and convenient position for grasping tightly; Draw into a small space together (go in); curl up

tie

An intransitive verb moves quickly by jumping or jumping.

impolite

Verb (abbreviation for verb) turns or moves quickly or violently.

tight

Pull together tightly, fix together or tie together.

Advertising. Firmly, tightly

sofa

Noun (abbreviation for noun) is a comfortable long chair with backrest and armrest, which can seat many people; Sofa chair

way

Verb (abbreviation for verb) comes closer or closer.

carefully

Be careful.

Cautious.

type

The transitive verb writes (something). ) use a typewriter

line

Noun (abbreviation for noun) a line of words in a poem; A line of words on a written or printed page.

helpless

A. unable to take care of oneself or take action to help others, powerless

suppose

Transitive verbs are considered true without actual evidence; Hypothesis, subjective view

ranch

A very large farm with horses, cows or sheep.

nursery

Nursery, a temporary place to look after children.

day nursery

Noun (abbreviation for noun) a place to take care of children during the day.

cultivate

Noun (abbreviation of noun) is the process of training or being trained; instruction

consistent

The act of exchanging excellent letters.

Correspondence course

Teachers and students exchange education courses for teaching and work through correspondence courses.

formally

Formally according to appropriate rules or legal forms.

Officially.

Qualified; Qualified; Obtain qualifications (or academic qualifications)

To make suitable or competent for a particular purpose in order to qualify.

register

Noun (abbreviation of noun) the number of people registered as members of schools, projects, etc. ; Registration number, registration, registration

Registration (l)

Register, register

motel

A roadside hotel that provides overnight accommodation for motorcycle motels.

crazy

A. extreme anxiety, fear, happiness, etc.

acre

acre

add

The act of adding

full-time

A. Take up all normal working hours

typewriter

typewriter

keyboard

A set of keys on a typewriter, piano, etc. keyboard

waste

Old useless things, rubbish

Tap, tap

A short tap.

midnight

midnight

ecstatic

A. characterized by a state of excessive excitement, especially. be as happy as a lark

draw pictures

A. (of face) looking very tired, anxious or nervous and haggard; Tense; tense；nervous

respond

Intransitive verbs respond to other people's behavior; answer

dad

Noun (short for noun) (colloq. ) father

Flat

Advertising. Quietly, peacefully

Even an a.

mainly

Advertising. Mainly; first

intolerable

Noun (short for noun) a feeling of shyness, shame or guilt.

index

Flag or indicator index

pressure

The restrictive influence of mental (psychological) pressure

nervous

Nervousness, anxiety, worry, pressure

reach

The act of a noun (short for noun) arriving.

luggage carrier

Shake violently

weakness

Vulnerability to damage or injury; fragile

Fragile.

textile

(AME) cloth, ribbons, laces, curtains and similar textiles.

meeting

N. meetings or time slots dedicated to granular activity meetings; (engage in an activity) for a period of time.

journalist

A person whose occupation is writing, editing or publishing for newspapers or magazines, a journalist.

souvenir

Reminds people of festivals, friends, etc. souvenir

odd

A. (of a machine) shaking; The fault is unstable; amiss

Phrases and phrases. formula

Have sth. for oneself

Have sth. For one's personal use

at work

Work; operational

Became popular

(informal) learning; Understand society, understand

make up one's mind

Go all out to do (something). Make up your mind to do it

To block/block [somebody's] way

Be in a position to postpone or prevent one's planned action, hinder

request by letter

Request (something). ) or order (goods) for mailing.

exhaust

Come to an end; Exhaustion and expiration; exhaust

besides

Besides; similarly

help

Give help; Help (sb). ) when you need help; Help (sb). ) get out of trouble

be on the alert

Ready to defend or protect; guard

In tears

great

conceal

Control; Make (something). (stay where you are, stop.

continue

To occur or occur.

advance

Make progress; advance