Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family.Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes.I have only one hand." Mom never looked up from sewing."You get yourself into the kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me."And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!" In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next.When it was my turn, I shook my head.Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying. That night I told Mom about it.She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look.The next afternoon, she took me back to school.At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars. "Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised.She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm.Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached.I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs.I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open. One night, after a dance at my new junior school, I lay in bed sobbing.I could hear Mom come into my room."Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me." For a long time, I didn't hear anything.Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat." Her voice was soft and weak.I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks.Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf.She had never let me see her tears. What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?
Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it. What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity. Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher. The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.