I heard that I went home for dinner on the weekend. My mother was busy in the kitchen early in the morning: fried lotus root box , fried hairtail , as well as fried chicken, stewed fish and several fried vegetables. She prepared a large table of sumptuous dishes, just like Chinese New Year.
"What are you doing with such a rich meal? We can't eat it for the two of us!" As soon as I entered the house, I looked at the dishes on the table and shouted to my mother. Then she saw the family photos on the desk and complained: "Why did you take the photos out? Didn't I tell you not to take them out?"
After my father passed away, my mother cried every day, couldn't sleep all night, and sometimes wanted to follow my father. I was worried that my mother would be sad and miss the things my father used when he was alive, so I burned them and threw them away, leaving only a few items such as family photos, etc., and placed them in the deepest part of the cabinet at home. I repeatedly told my mother that my father was not allowed to tell his granddaughter about his death, and not to take these things out, lest the children would see and ask.
Hearing my reproachful words, my mother suddenly burst into tears and said sadly: "Today is your dad's birthday!"
Looking at my mother with a sad face, I suddenly remembered that at this time of year, I always seem to receive a call from my mother asking me to go home for dinner, but I am always too busy to take care of it. My mother always comforted me calmly: "It's okay, your business is important!" In the past few years since my father passed away, my mother would hold a family photo alone and silently celebrate my father's birthday. How sad she must have been at that time. Thinking of this, my heart felt like a knife piercing my heart, and I was so heartbroken that I couldn't breathe.
"I'm going to pour a glass of wine for Dad." I couldn't bear it anymore, so I secretly wiped away my tears while looking for wine, then pretended to be nonchalant, picked up the teacup, poured wine, and solemnly placed it in front of the family portrait.
This family photo should have been taken when I was in elementary school. At that time, the most popular clothing was military uniform. Both father and mother are wearing old military uniforms bought from their hometown. The father has a slight smile on his face and is in high spirits; the mother has slightly curly long hair shawl, calm and gentle. I stood between my parents. I was as tall as my father's shoulders. I was wearing a green school uniform and a big cap on my head, with a happy smile on my face.
Staring at the youthful faces of my parents in the photo instantly evoked my long-standing memory.
I remember when I was a child, the most common thing I did was talk back to my parents. He would not listen to anyone's advice and would rather die than surrender. Once, when relatives came to the house, my mother made my bed and discussed with me in a nice voice, letting me temporarily stay in another room for one night. But I just don't agree. My father grabbed my clothes and threw me out. I cried loudly and didn't even eat dinner. When no one paid attention to me, I sat at the door of the house where I used to live and made all kinds of noises all night long. I made my relatives very embarrassed and left my house early the next morning. Afterwards, of course he was inevitably beaten by his father. At that time, it was popular that "the first class people do not need to be taught, the second class people use words to teach, and the third class people use sticks to teach." My mother said that I belong to the third class, the kind of people who have to be driven with a whip to do something. Since then, my father has learned the "true story" and said, "There is nothing that can't be solved by a good beating. If it's not enough, then give it twice."
I was very crying at that time. It is said that "children who cry are fed by milk." I don't know if others have experienced this, but I have definitely experienced the benefits of crying. At that time, as long as I fell down, if my parents were not around, I would get up by myself, "beat" the thing that tripped me, "ouch, ouch, ouch", and do whatever I needed to do. But if my parents were around, I would cry so miserably. The more I tried to persuade me, the harder I would cry. Although he was beaten several times because of this, in those years when he was short of food and clothing, he often won the "victory" of signing unequal treaties such as buying delicious food and toys.
It wasn’t until I started working many years later that I realized that this was just my parents’ pampering and accommodation of me. Just like why parents always get up so early, cook and dress their children, and go out to send their children to school. What wakes them up is not the alarm clock, but life and love for their children.
Now, I, who was once the child of my parents, have also become the father of my children. There are seniors and young children at the top, as well as the helplessness of dealing with all kinds of things such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and the mortgage that seems to never be paid off, which makes me truly realize how difficult and difficult life is.
It seems that everything in the world has become very important, but I have become the least important. Now whenever I fall down and there are people around me, I will get up as if nothing has happened, pat the dust off my body gracefully, and wave my hands without taking away a single cloud. And when there is no one around, sometimes I cry silently. Looking back suddenly, when I was a child and I was with my parents, it was the happiest day without any worries, and it was the paradise that I can never go back to.
"At that time, what your father and I were looking forward to the most was that you would grow up quickly!" After finishing the meal, my mother looked at me laughing and crying while staring at the family portrait, and said to me, "At that time, I fantasized about what you would look like when you grew up. 10 What will it look like in 20 years, 20 years, or 30 years?"
"Mom, me too." I replied with a smile, "Now your wish has long been fulfilled, I am almost forty years old!"
Looking at my growing gray hair, my mother asked. My mother sighed and said, "Now that I think about it, I was so stupid at that time for expecting you to grow up."
"Mom, me too."
My mother and I burst out laughing, but while laughing, I shed tears...
Anchor/post-editor: Lei Zixuan (internship)
Editor: Zhu Ruotong
Editor-in-chief on duty: Wang Juan
