梦想成真
母亲去世前回光返照的几个月我几乎每天与她视频，之前两地分离时每周至少一个电话。母亲2018年三月撒手人寰后，我时时念叨着要是能再跟她通话就好了。没想到去年夏天梦想成真。
我记得是很明丽的夏日清晨，我一本书一本书整理，一页一页拍照。突然一张卡片从书里掉落到地上，捡起卡片，竟是母亲的字迹：“我们于2009年7月19日上午11点半到美国列克星顿市，至今已有10天，再过20天我们又要回中国去了。路上非常辛苦，主要是转机时太困难。在这里很好。美国空气好、树好、草苹好、公路好。只是柏青每日都要为我们准备三餐安排活动。她太累了，那天她竟然病了，我很担心。”不禁潸然泪下。
九月十日是中国的教师节，今年的九月十一日是美国恐怖袭击二十周年。
时势和家事仍然影响着每个人。母亲的培育方方面面：德智体美劳。母亲家事公事一样没少操劳。母亲更是为国事担心尽力。母亲少女时的日记披露她对照父辈勤于检视自身问题的思考。除了母亲，已经辞世的师长甚至年龄比我小的人都用自己的奉献和生命为我们的世界递送着希望和光明。
Dr.
Donnermeyer在农村犯罪学前言里写到，当我们种种的努力换来的是几十年如一日的坏消息时，似乎唯一能做的是对新闻不闻不问。我理解由于希望带来的失望。当我再打开新闻时，我听到了一则关于放弃高位甘于做公益的报道。
Dreams Came True
I video chatted with my mother almost
every day during the few months before she passed way. She seemed to do well.
For most of the time we were living apart, I called home at least once a week.
I dreamed of talking with my mother one more time after she died in March 2018.
To my surprise, my dream came true last summer.
I remember it was a bright and
beautiful morning. I sorted out my books by taking picture of each page.
Suddenly a card stuck in a book fell onto the floor. On the card, mother’s handwriting
read, “We arrived in Lexington at 11:30am on July the 19th, 2009. We
have been here for ten days and will fly back to China in 20 days. It was a
difficult trip due to flight connections. It is great here. In the U.S., everything
is good: the air, trees, lawns, and roads. The only thing is that my daughter
has to prepare three meals and arrange activities for us every day. She was so
tired that she fell ill the other day. I was worried.” Tears rolled down from
my eyes.
In China, September the 10th
is teacher’s day. In the U.S., this year’s September 11th marks the
20th anniversary of the terrorist attack.
We are all influenced by events in
the society and at home. My mother cultivated every aspect of the younger
generation’s development: ethics, knowledge, sports, aesthetics, and work. My mother
took care of her job and family. She also paid attention to social issues. In
her journal, she critiqued herself by comparing with the generation before her when
she grew. Other mentors and role models (who are older and younger than me)
also have given hope and light to this world with their dedication and lives.
In the preface of Rural Criminology,
Dr. Donnermeyer states that turning off bad news we had had several decades in
a row despite all efforts seemed to be the only solution. I understand the
disappointment from hope. When I turned on the news, it was about a non-profit whose
founder gave up a well paying job to create the organization.
