Mum's Recipe for Life
I have a lot of Mum's recipes in a blue box where all my special ones were put, like the pumpkin pie she made during my growing up years. Even so, the recipe I treasure most is not on any index card, nor did she send it to me in a letter. Instead, she lived this recipe all of her life.
My mother grew up in a small coal mining town in southwest Iowa. My grandfather once told me that she knew no stranger; she considered everyone in that community her friend. That attitude continued wherever she lived for the rest of her life.
As a teen, I was embarrassed (尴尬的) every time my mother talked to strangers and offered a smile to everyone in the store or on the city bus. Almost all of them responded (回应) with a bright smile of their own. Some spoke, others nodded their heads at this elderly woman who brought a little light into their day.
What really sold me on Mum's approach to life was her experience on the senior bus. The weeks I could not be there, she used this low-cost transportation to the grocery store. After her first trip, I asked her how it went.
"Ha!" she said," I got on that bus and what did I see? Thirteen little old ladies and one old man, and not one word was spoken."
I wondered how long it would be until the silence on that bus would change. On my next visit, Mum mentioned the 13 little old ladies on the bus and something one of them had told her.
"Oh, are you talking with them now?" I asked.
"Of course," she said. "One day I climbed up the steps of the bus and before I looked for a seat, I gave them a big smile and I said, Isn't it a wonderful day? ' I noticed a few shy smiles."
Mum didn't give up. She greeted them all each time she got on the bus and before long, the whole group was laughing and talking to one another. The bus became more than just transportation.
When we went to the various stores, I watched as she smiled and chatted with perfect strangers. Some of them looked like the poorest person you'd ever met, but once Mum smiled at them and started a conversation, most responded favourably. My mother didn't embarrass me any longer. I found myself admiring her.
She's been gone for ten years but I've carried on her recipe for life. It was me who had done the smiling first and all those people had responded. My mother didn't lecture but taught me by example. She'd given me a recipe for life.
