When our daughter was born, the doctor pointed out that her feet were turned inward (向内)."Left1, it would be a problem," he told us.
We2to do anything we could do to help our baby.3she was growing, I had to take her back to the doctor every two weeks to have each foot recast (重塑).4the casting was finished and it was time for corrective5. Jim and I watched with hope and concern as she6to walk. Those first, awkward steps made us so7. By the time she entered preschool, her steps appeared quite8. Encouraged by her progress, we looked for something else to help strengthen her9body.
As it turned out, she loved the10! When she turned six, we helped her join in skating lessons and soon she was skating11a swan (天鹅). She kept working hard at every new 12, and her efforts13. At fifteen, she competed in both pairs-skating and the ladies' singles at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Australia, winning both14!
I thought back to the early years of15for Kristi — the years of fear for us as her parents, and the same years of frustration (挫折) for her as a child who16wanted to walk. During those years, we didn't expect gold medals and a good professional career17her. We admired Kristi,18her strength and efforts, and how far she had come on two tiny feet that had19been bound (束缚) in heavy casts. In our eyes, Kristi had always walked with the20of a true champion.
