我是一个单亲家庭长大的孩子。在我的生命里，母亲陪伴了我大部分的成长时光，但是很惭愧，我却还从未为我的母亲写下任何文字。今天晚上坐在电脑前想记录从前的点点滴滴……
从我记事起，我的母亲就没有换过发型，一直是卷卷的短发，蓬松的造型有点像一棵包菜。想到这里，我的眼睛有些发酸，脑海中竟然没有母亲留长发的模样。或许是母亲为了便于照顾我，才变身这般“女强人”模样。
I am a child who grew up in a single-parent family. In my life, my mum has accompanied me for the most part of growing up, but I am ashamed to say, I have never written any words for my mother. Tonight I sit before the computer trying to record little details from the past……
As far as I can remember, my mum has not changed her hairstyle, its always been a curly short style, the fluffy hairdo is a little bit like a head of cabbage. My eyes stung a little at this thought, I actually can’t remember my mum ever having long hair. Maybe my mum turned into this ‘strong woman’ look so that its more convenient for her to take care of me.
我曾经在泛黄的老照片上见过长发母亲的笑容。如果时光能倒流我真想回到过去，看一眼母亲年轻时秀丽的长发，青春的脸庞上挂着天真的笑容，一个小梨涡、两颗小虎牙。她在我的印象里一直是一个很严肃的人，一个人把我拉扯大，又当爹又当妈，很不容易。
I once saw my mum smiling with long hair in an old yellowed photo. If time can be reversed I really want to go back, to see my mum with long pretty hair, youthful face full of innocent smiles, a small dimple, two little canine teeth. My impression of her has always been a very serious person, someone who raised me, as both father and mother, is definitely not easy.
我是独生子，所以母亲对我的期望很高，用“望子成龙”来形容母亲对我的期待再贴切不过了。在我小时候，除了文化课，母亲非常注重我的艺术培养，不惜花重金置办一架钢琴，就是为了让我能在未来有一技之长立足于社会。可我当时是“凳上搁蒺藜——坐不住”。后来在母亲的强制要求下，每天必须至少练习两小时钢琴。我心里那叫一个苦啊。
As I am an only child, my mother has very high expectations of me, using ‘hope for the child to become a dragon’ ( have great ambitions for one’s child ) is really apt to describe her expectations for me. When I was young, in addition to Cultural lessons, my mum paid a great deal of attention to develop my artistic training, she spent alot of money to buy a piano, so that I can have a professional skill when I enter society in future. However I was simply unable to sit still – it was as if there was ‘thorns on the bench’. After my mum made piano practice mandatory for at least two hours a day, I could only groan in my heart.
我记得钢琴老师总是打我手背，纠正我的错误，有时踏板踩错还会顺带给我一脚。老师真的太凶了，越凶我越不想学，也学不进去。我就坐在钢琴凳上瞎弹，虽然我也不知道我在弹什么，脑子一片空白或是早就飞到窗外去了……反正在黑白琴键上敲打两个小时就算蒙混过关。
I remember how the piano teacher is always hitting the back of my hands, correcting my mistakes, sometimes might give me a swift kick if I stepped on the wrong pedal. The teacher was really too fierce and the more fierce the more I resisted against learning, and can’t seem to learn. I just sat there on the piano bench playing blindly, even though I had no idea what I was playing, my mind just went blank or had flown out of the window …… Anyway I just muddled my way through as long as I knocked on the black and white keys for two hours.
出去跟小伙伴们玩耍多好，大家都等着我呢，和钢琴约会简直无聊透顶……当时的我根本不明白学这些的意义，长大后才能慢慢理解母亲的良苦用心，其实自己也曾想过要是坚持学习，说不定现在真是钢琴王子了，哈哈哈哈。
How nice it would be if I could go outside to play with my little friends, everyone is waiting for me, and a date with the piano is super boring……At the time I simply did not understand the sense of learning all these, as I grew up I slowly understood my mum’s good intentions, and in fact I did think that if I had persisted with my learning back then, maybe I might really be a prince of piano now, hahahaha.
想起我放弃的场面，真的忍不住想笑。那时我声泪俱下的对着我妈说，“妈妈，我求求你别让我再学钢琴了，钢琴老师好凶，我不想弹琴了！求求你了！妈！妈～ ”边哭边拉着我妈的衣角来回晃荡。母亲不回应我，我就接着说：“只要不学钢琴了，我一定好好学习，我向您保证，我发誓。”
I really can’t help laughing as I recalled the scene when I gave up. At the time, I tearfully pleaded with my mum and said :” Mum, I beg you please don’t make me learn piano anymore, the piano teacher is so fierce, I don’t want to play the piano anymore! Please! Mum! Mum~ ” As I cried I yanked on the corner of my mum’s clothes back and forth. My mum did not respond, so I continued: “As long as I don’t have to learn the piano, I will definitely study hard, I give you my word, I swear it.”
母亲当然经不住我这么折腾，只好说，“你说的，不学钢琴以后一定给我好好学习，不然看我怎么收拾你。”——原来母亲才是最最嘴硬心软的人了。但事实证明，孩子的誓言好像并不怎么见成效。
Of course, my mother couldn’t withstand my tantrum, so she gave in, “You said it, after you stop learning the piano, you must study hard, otherwise you’ll see how I will deal with you.” – It turns out that my mother is firm in speech but the most soft-hearted person. But the fact is, it turns out that a child’s vows is not really effective.
答应母亲好好学习之后，成绩非但没有提高，反而下降不少。掉出班级前十名之后，倒是挺稳定的，一直徘徊在班级20-30名左右。这可给母亲急坏了，不是答应好好学了吗？从此母亲的“紧箍咒”就一直在耳边环绕，给我印象最深刻的一句话就是“你看看你表妹，年纪比你小、比你会读书多了，次次班级前三，偶尔一次跌出了前三名都会大哭一场。再看看你读成什么样子！”
After promising my mother to study hard, my grades dropped a lot instead of improving. After falling out of the top ten in the class, my ranking actually stabilized, hovering within 20-30 in the class. This made my mum really anxious, didn’t he promise to study hard? Henceforth, my mum’s **”Hoop-tightening spell” always surrounded my ears, and the sentence that left the deepest impression on me was “Look at your cousin, she is younger than you and can study so much better than you. She is always in the top three of her class, when she rarely falls out of the top three, she will always cry a lot. Look at how you have studied!”
(** 紧箍咒 is the spell that Tang Sanzang uses on Sun Wukong to tighten the headband he wears around his head to control him and make him obedient )
可能我确实没什么读书的天赋，但是周杰伦一长串的歌词，直到现在我都能倒背如流。事实证明读书对我来说是“木头补铁锅——不是那块料”。
Maybe I really did not have the innate ability to study, but Jay Chou’s long chunk of lyrics, I can still recite it back and forth smoothly till now. The truth shows that studying and I was like “wood to mend an iron pot – not the right material”.
有一回大考成绩下来了，不及格！！！并且需要拿回去给家长签字！我心想完了完了，纸包不住火了。咋办？我背着书包迈着沉重的步伐，踏上了回家的路。当时我没走大路，而是选择穿过一个技术学院往家走，一路走一路自我怀疑，是不是我真的太笨了，这课本怎么越读越不懂了，竟然能考出不及格。生活已经如此的艰难了，为何还要让小小的我承受如此多的责备？越想越难过，本来考不好就够难过了，回家还要挨骂，简直是“难过它妈给难过开门——难过到家了”。走到家门口还没来得及敲门，心中的委屈就决堤了！“哇！”的一声大哭起来，一直哭到母亲把门推开，又着急又关切的问我，“儿子怎么了？谁欺负你了？没事吧？怎么哭成这样？”我没有回答只是一味地哭。这时母亲发现了我手中的试卷（那鲜红的阿拉伯数字我就不说了），愣了一秒，“吓死我了，以为发生了什么大事，没事没事，这次没考好下次加油，嗯 比之前有责任心了，考不好还知道哭。”（黑人问号脸，原来哭可以体现责任心。）
One time the General Exam results were announced, and I failed! ! ! I had to take it back to get signed by the parent! I thought its all over, “Paper can’t wrap fire” ( the truth will out ) What can I do? I carried my schoolbag on my back and with heavy footsteps, set out for home. Instead of taking the main road, I chose to walk home through a Technical Academy. As I walked I was eaten by self-doubt, am I really stupid, why is it that the more I read the textbook, the less I understood, and I actually had a failing score. Life is already so difficult, why should the small me take on so much reproach? The more I thought about it, the more upset I got. It was already sad enough to have done so badly in the exam, and now I have to endure a scolding when I get home. It’s ” Sadness’s mother open the door for Sadness, Sadness is home” – really too sad! ” Before I had time to knock on the door, the grievances in my heart burst forth! “Wah!” I burst into tears, and cried until my mum pushed the door open, asked me anxiously in concern, “What happened my son? Who bullied you? Are you okay? Why are you crying like this?” I didn’t answer, just kept on crying. At this moment, my mum found the test papers in my hand (I won’t mention the bright red Arabic numerals), was stunned for a second, said “I was scared to death, thinking that something terrible had happened, it’s all right, if you didn’t pass the test this time, work harder for the next time. Well, now you have a stronger sense of responsibility than before, still know how to cry if you didn’t pass the exam.” ( 黑人问号脸 , so crying can reflect a sense of responsibility.)
母亲在学习上对我严格要求，生活上更是给予了我无微不至的关爱。据妈妈回忆，当年因为离婚纠纷，不得不搬出原有的家中，带着只有两三岁的我到姨姨家借宿。我睡在沙发上，而妈妈在大理石的地板上度过了一个冬天，从此落下了一些病根儿。
My mother was strict with me in my studies, she was absolutely devoted to taking care of me. My mum remembered that due to the divorce dispute, she had to take me who was only two or three years old, moved out of our old home to my **aunt’s house to stay. I slept on the sofa while my mother spent the winter on the marble floor and ended up with some recurring ailments.
( ** 阿姨 is Ah Yi which is aunt, 姨姨 Yiyi is like a cute, endearing term usually said by a child )
开始上学后，母亲除了把我从温暖的被窝里薅起来，还会帮我端上一碗热气腾腾的蒸蛋和热好的牛奶。实在来不及了就给我个五毛一块的在楼下吃一碗汤粉。（写到这里快一点了，都要给我整饿了。）
After I started schooling, my mum not only plucked me gently from under the warm covers, but also served me a bowl of hot, steaming steamed eggs and warmed milk. If there was no time, she would give me fifty cents to eat a bowl of noodle soup downstairs. ( Its nearly 1am as I write this, I am going to make myself so hungry.)
年龄再大一点儿，我就特别爱听流行歌曲，阿杜、S.H.E、F.I.R飞儿乐团、周杰伦，于是就央求母亲给我买个随身听。虽然当时家境并不富裕，但母亲总是希望能给我最好的，就送了我一台索尼随身听。
As I grew a little older, I especially liked to listen to Pop songs, A-do, S.H.E, F.I.R., Jay Chou, so I begged my mother to buy me a Walkman. Although we were not wealthy at the time, my mum always wanted the best for me, so she gave me a Sony Walkman.
给我高兴坏了，放学路上听、做作业时听，睡觉前必须也得听。母亲又陷入了焦虑当中，经常抓到我听歌听到半夜不睡觉，嘴里还念念有词（什么我闭上眼睛就是天黑，我的天空今天有点灰，哼哼哈嘿ಠ_ಠ）。不仅时常晚上突击检查，甚至扬言要收回我的随身听。可是她没想到，上有政策下有对策——我把脚丫子露在被子外面，闭着眼睛把头埋在被窝里，脚丫子佯装跟着音乐节奏一起晃动。这时母亲会毫不留情的把被子掀开检查，可是我并没有在听，我确实闭着眼睛在睡觉，谁规定睡觉时脚趾头不能晃动呢？被我忽悠了几次之后，母亲也就不检查了哈哈哈哈。这类的小故事还有很多很多，如果以后有机会再跟你们一一道来。
It made me so happy. I listened to it on the way home from school, when I was doing my homework, and I had to listen to it before going to bed. My mum fell into an anxious state again, and often caught me staying up listening to songs until the middle of the night, and my mouth was still chanting lyrics ( what – I close my eyes and the sky gets dark, my sky is a little gray today, hmph hmph ha hei ಠ_ಠ). Not only did she conduct surprise inspections at night, she even threatened to confiscate my Walkman. But she didn’t expect that while there may be policies issued from above, there are countermeasures below — I exposed my feet outside the quilt, closed my eyes and buried my head under the covers, and my feet pretended to move to the rhythm of music. My mum will ruthlessly lift the quilt to check at such times, but I am not listening then. I was sleeping with my eyes closed. Who stipulates that my toes cannot be shaking while asleep? After being fooled a few times, my mum stopped inspecting hahahaha. There are many more short stories of this kind, if I have the opportunity in the future, I will tell it to you all one by one.
今天是三八妇女节，我想把这篇文章送给我的母亲，回忆了成长中与母亲“斗智斗勇”的故事，很美好也很幸福。这个世界本没有超级英雄，因为超级英雄就在我们的身边。我的超级英雄就是我的母亲，为我遮风挡雨、排除万难保护着我的“女超人”，我想对她说：“我爱您！” 我希望她能够永远健康快乐，作为一个母亲她已经做的足够好，甚至不能再好了。不用有任何的愧疚，觉得自己帮不上什么忙。
Today is Women’s Day on March 8th. I want to dedicate this essay to my mother, as I remember the story of “matching wits and courage” with my mum while I was growing up, which is very beautiful and very blissful. There are no superheroes in this world, because superheroes are all around us. My superhero is my mother, the “superwoman” who shields me from the wind and rain, protects me against all odds. I want to say to her: “I love you!” I hope she can always be healthy and happy, as a mother she already done well enough, and couldn’t even be further improved. Don’t have any guilty feelings, or feel like you can’t do anything to help.
您要相信您的儿子在这么多好心人的帮助下，可以面对未来一切风浪。我爱您妈妈，妇女节快乐。记住最重要的是快乐！
You have to believe that with the help of so many kind-hearted people, your son can face all future storms. I love you mom, Happy Women’s day. Remember the most important thing is to be happy!
也祝福所有的女士们，女神节快乐，在这个节日别忘了给自己的妈妈打个电话表达一下思念，说一句我爱您❤️
I also wish all the ladies, a Happy Goddess Day, don’t forget to call your mothers to express your thoughts on this festival and say I love you ❤️
唯爱永不朽，愿善永不休❤️
Only love lasts forever, may kindness never cease ❤️
Zhang Zhehan 