For a long time I didnt hear anything. Then she said， “Oh， honey， someday youll be beating those boys off with a bat. Youll see.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peekedpeek v.偷看n.一瞥， 匆忙看过 out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks.
无论做什么事都是这样：妈妈从不为我做，也不许我找借口，坚持让我自己想办法去解决问题。有时我怨恨她。我在心里想她不知道那是什么滋味。
她不在乎有多么困难。但有天晚上，在初中入学的学校舞会结束后，我一个人躺在床上哭。我听见妈妈走进了我的房间。
“怎么了？”她温和地问我。
“妈妈，”我哭着说，“因为我的胳臂，没有一个男孩愿意和我一起跳舞。”
很久我都没有听到她说一句话。后来她说：“啊，亲爱的，有天你会用球棒赶走那些男孩。你看着吧！”她的声音显得微弱而急促。我从被子下面偷偷看见眼泪流过她的面颊。
Then I knew how much she sufferedsuffer vi.受苦 vt.遭受 on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears， though， because she didnt want me to feel sorry for myself.
Later， I married the first guy I thought accepted me. But he turned out to be immatureimmature adj.不成熟的 and irresponsibleirresponsible adj.不负责任的， 不可靠的. When my daughter Jessica was born， I wanted to protect her fromprotect…from 保护……不受…… my unhappy marriage， and I broke free.
During the five years I was a single mother， Mom was my rock. If I needed to cry， shed hold me. If I complainedcomplain vi.抱怨，拆苦；控告 about chasing a toddler around after working and going to school， shed laugh.
But if I ever started feeling sorry for myself， Id look at her and then remember， she did it with five！
这时，我才知道她为了我忍受了多少的痛苦，可她决不让我看到她流泪，因为她不想让我难过。
后来，我和第一个我认为接受我的男人结了婚。但他不成熟又不负责任。我女儿杰西卡出生后，为了让她免受不幸婚姻所带来的创伤，我离婚了。
在我成为单身母亲的五年中，妈妈是我的坚强后盾。如果我想要哭，她就抱着我。如果我抱怨下班或放学后得到处追着初学走路的孩子，她就常常发笑。
但如果我为自己感到伤心难过，我就看着她，然后想想她为我们五个孩子所做的一切！
I remarried， and my husband Tim and I have a loving family that includes four children. Perhaps because Mom missed so much time with her own kids， she made it up with her grandchildren.
Many times I watched her rock Jessica， stroking her hair. “Im going to spoil her rotten and then give her back to her mother for some discipline，” shed tell me. “Thats my privilegeprivilege n.特权， 特别待遇， 基本公民权力， 特免vt.给与……特权， 特免 now.” She didnt， though. She just gave the children infiniteinfinite adj.无穷的， 无限的， 无数的， 极大的n.无限的东西 patience and love.
In 1991， Mom was found to have lung cancer and given six months to a year to live. She was still with us more than three years later. Doctors said it was a miracle； I think it was her love for her grandchildren that kept her fighting right up to the last. Mom died five days after her 53rd birthday.
我再次结了婚。我和丈夫蒂姆共有个四个孩子，我们有一个充满浓浓爱意的家。或许因为我妈妈失去了太多与自己孩子待在一起的时间，所以她就在孙辈中弥补。
我很多次看见她摇摆着杰西卡，抚摸她的头发。“我要把她狠狠宠坏，然后把她归还给妈妈好好地管教，”她常这样告诉我。“这是我现在的特权。”然而，她并没有那样做。她只是将无限的耐心和爱给了孩子们。
1991年妈妈被诊断肺癌，只能活半年到一年。过去三年多了，她仍然和我们生活在一起。医生说这是个奇迹。我认为是她对孙辈们的爱使她和病魔斗争到最后一刻。她五十三岁生日后第五天去世了。
Even now， it hurts me to think that someone who had so much hardship in life should have suffered so at the end.
But she taught me the answer to that， too. As a child， I wondered why I had to struggle so. Now I know its hardshiphardship n.困苦， 艰难， 辛苦 that makes us the people we become. I feel Mom with me always. Sometimes， when I fear I cant handle things， I see her radiant smile again. She had the heart to face anything. And she taught me I could， too.
甚至现在，一想到一个历经生活中那么多磨难的人最后竟然还要遭受如此大的苦难，我就很难过。
但她同时为我解开了这个问题的答案。小时候，我在想为什么我非得如此奋力拼搏。现在我明白了——是苦难造就了我们这些人。我感到妈妈永远同我在一起。有时，当我担心没法处理问题时，我便又看到她那灿烂的微笑。她有信心面对任何困难，她教会我也能做得到。
母爱有着不同的表现形式。逆境中的人对母爱的感受更加深刻，因为母亲付出了更多更多的爱，她们用自己脆弱的身躯挑起了家庭的重担，她们用自己坚强的意志带领子女健康成长。让我们为这些母亲们祝福。