I am my mother’s third girl. When I was born, the doctor gently explained to my mother that my left arm was missing, below the elbow(肘). Then he gave her some advice, “Don’t treat her any differently from the other girls.” And she did!
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, “Mum, I can’t peel(削……皮)potatoes. I only have one hand.” “You get back to peel those potatoes, and don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
Of course I could peel potatoes—with my good hand and my other arm. “Jenny, if you try hard enough,” she said, “you can do anything.”
Once in the second grade, our teacher had each of us race across the monkey bar(攀爬架).When it was my turn, I said no, Some kids laughed. I went home crying.
The next afternoon Mum took me back to the school playground. “Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She praised me when I made progress. I’ll never forget when I was crossing the bar, the kids were standing there with their mouths open.
It was the way with everything. Mum had the courage to face anything. And she taught me I could, too.
【小题1】How many younger sisters do I have?