Two things changed my life: my mother and a white plastic bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it’s true. I would be a different person if my mom hadn’t turned a silly bicycle accessory into a life lesson I carry with me today.
有两件事物改变了我的生活：我的母亲和一只白色塑料自行车篮。我努力想了很久，这是真的。如果我母亲没有把一个愚蠢的自行车配件变成我今天随身携带的人生课程，我会变成另一个人。
My mother and father were united in their way of raising children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how she did it. Managing the family budget must have been a very hard task，but she made it look effortless. If we complained about not having what another kid did, we’d hear something like, “I don’t care what so-and-so got for his birthday, you are not getting a TV in your room/a car for your birthday/a lavish sweet16 party.” We had to earn our allowance by doing chores around the house. I can still remember how long it took to polish the legs of our coffee table. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. Like the two little girls growing up at the White House, we made our own beds (no one left the house until that was done) and picked up after ourselves. We had to keep track of our belongings, and if something was lost, it was not replaced.
我的父母在抚养孩子的方式上是一致的，但实际上这主要取决于我母亲。回过头来看，我真不知道她是怎么做到的。管理家庭预算肯定是一项非常艰巨的任务，但她让这看起来毫不费力。如果我们抱怨不像其他孩子拥有一些礼物时，我们就会听到这样的话：“我不在乎他生日有什么礼物，你的房间里没有电视/生日没有车/没有16岁的奢华派对。”我们不得不靠在家里做家务来赚取零用钱。我还记得擦咖啡桌腿花了多长时间。我的兄弟们肯定还记得打扫房子花了多长时间。就像在白宫长大的两个小女孩一样，我们自己铺床（在那之前没有人离开房子），然后自己收拾。我们必须记录自己的物品，如果有物品丢失了，不会被替换。
It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed - and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated with flowers, the basket winked at me and I knew - I knew - I had to have it.
那是夏天，有一天，我妈妈开车送我去自行车店修轮胎，轮胎就在橱窗里。闪亮的白色塑料车篮，上面装饰着鲜花，车篮向我眨眼，我知道我必须拥有它。
“It’s beautiful,” my mother said when I pointed it out to her, “What a neat basket.”
当我把它指给妈妈时，她说：“它很漂亮，真是一个整洁的车篮。”
I tried to hold off at first. I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I couldn’t stand it any longer: “Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as long as you say. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket. I love that basket. Please, Mom.Please?”
一开始我试着拖延。我冷静了一会儿。但后来我想我再也受不了了：“妈妈，可以给我吗？只要你同意，我会做额外的家务，我会做任何事情，我想要那个车篮。我喜欢那个车篮。求你了，妈妈。求你？”
I was desperate.
我很绝望。
“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believed was the coolest thing ever, “If you save up you could buy this yourself.”
“你知道，”她说，轻轻地揉了揉我的背，我们都盯着我认为有史以来最酷的东西，“如果你存钱的话，你可以自己买。”
“By the time I make enough it’ll be gone!”
“等我攒够钱的时候，它就没了！”
“Maybe Roger here could hold it for you,” she smiled at Roger, the bike guy.
“也许这里的罗杰可以帮你保管，”她对自行车店的伙计罗杰笑了笑。
“He can’t hold it for that long, Mom. Someone else will buy it. Please, Mom, please?”
“他保管不了那么久，妈妈。别人会买的。求你了，妈妈，求你了？”
“There might be another way,” she said.
“可能还有其他办法”，她说。
And so our paying plan unfolded. My mother bought the beautiful basket and put it safely in some hiding place I couldn’t find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing saving increased by extra work here and there (washing the car, helping my mother make dinner, delivering or collecting things on my bike that already looked naked without the basket in front). And then, weeks later, I counted, recounted and jumped for joy. Oh, happy day! I made it! I finally had the exact amount we’d agreed upon...
于是，我们的付款计划展开了。我母亲买了一个漂亮的车篮，把它安全地放在一个我找不到的地方。每周，我都急切地数着我越来越多的积蓄，因为到处都是额外的工作（洗车、帮母亲做晚饭、用我的自行车送货或收货，自行车在前面没有车篮的情况下看起来简直是不值一提）。然后，几周后，我数了数，又数了一遍，高兴地跳了起来。哦，快乐的一天！我成功了！我终于攒够了我们商定的金额......
Days later the unthinkable happened. A neighborhood girl I’d played with millions of times appeared with the exact same basket fixed to her shiny, new bike that already had all the bells and whistles. I rode hard and fast home to tell my mother about this disaster.This horrible turn of events.
几天后，不可思议的事情发生了。一个经常和我一起玩的邻居女孩出现了，她那辆闪闪发光的新自行车上固定着完全相同的车篮，那辆自行车已经安装好了所有的车铃。我飞快地骑回家，告诉我妈妈这场灾难。这是一个可怕的转折。
And then came the lesson I’ve taken with me through my life: “Honey, your basket is extraspecial,” Mom said，gently wiping away my hot tears. “Your basket is special because you paid for it yourself.”
然后是我一生所学到的一课：“亲爱的，你的车篮是特别的，”妈妈轻轻地擦去我滚烫的泪水，说道：“你的篮子很特别，因为是你自己掏钱买的。”
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