A Vacation with My Mother
I had an interesting childhood. It was filled with surprises and amusements, all because of my mother—loving, sweet, yet absentminded and forgetful. One strange family trip we took when I was eleven tells a lot about her.
My two sets of grandparents lived in Colorado and North Dakota, and my parents decided to spend a few weeks driving to those states and seeing all the sights along the way. As the first day of our trip approached, David, my eightyearold brother, and I unwillingly said goodbye to all of our friends. Who knew if we'd ever see them again? Finally, the moment of our departure arrived, and we loaded suitcases, books, games, camping equipment, and a tent into the car and bravely drove off. We bravely drove off again two hours later after we'd returned home to get the purse and traveler's checks Mom had forgotten.
David and I were always a little nervous when using gas station bathrooms if Mom was driving while Dad slept：“You stand outside the door and play lookout (放哨 )while I go, and I'll stand outside the door and play lookout while you go.”I had terrible pictures in my mind: “Honey, where are the kids？”“What？！Oh, Gosh…I thought they were being awfully quiet.” We were never actually left behind in a strange city, but we weren't about to take any chances.
On the fourth or fifth night, we had trouble finding a hotel with a vacancy. After driving in vain for some time, Mom suddenly got a great idea: Why didn't we find a house with a likelylooking backyard and ask if we could set up tent there? David and I became nervous. To our great relief, Dad turned down the idea. Mom never could understand our objections. If a strange family showed up on her front doorstep, Mom would have been delighted. She thinks everyone in the world is as nice as she is. We finally found a vacancy in the next town.
