The Roadside Applauders

The daughter's classmates called her "number 23". In her class of 50 people, my daughter ranked 23rd in every test, and over time, this nickname was given to her, and she became a true middle child.

We think this nickname is harsh, but my daughter gladly accepted it. My husband is worried that when it comes to company events or old school reunions, others are full of praise for their own "little superman", but he can only play deep. Other people's children, not only outstanding results, and a lot of special skills. Our "No. 23" is the only one who has nothing to show for it. Therefore, when he saw those children with extraordinary talents in entertainment programs, he was so envious that his eyes glowed.

The family and friends gathered at the Mid-Autumn Festival, filling a large private room. The topic of conversation gradually turned to the young children of each family. The children were asked to talk about what they would like to do in the future while they were drinking. Pianists, celebrities, political figures, the children are not shy, even the 4.5-year-old girl, will also say in the future to be a CCTV host, won a burst of praise.

The 12-year-old daughter was busy picking crabs and peeling shrimp for her little brother and sister, serving soup and wiping her mouth. People suddenly remembered that she was the only one left to talk. At the urging of the crowd, she seriously replied, "When I grow up, my first choice is to be a kindergarten teacher, leading the children to sing, dance and play games." The crowd politely expressed their approval and then followed up with a question about her second choice. She said graciously, "I want to be a mother, wear an apron with Tinker Bell on it, cook dinner in the kitchen, and then read stories to my child and lead him to look at the stars on the balcony."

Family and friends were stunned and looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The look on my husband's face was extremely embarrassing.

In fact, we have used a lot of brains. In order to improve her academic performance, we hired tutors, enrolled in tutorial classes, and bought all kinds of materials. The child is also quite understanding, comic books do not read, paper-cutting class quit, the weekend lazy sleep gave up. Like a tired bird, she rushes from one class to another, papers, exercise books, piles and piles of them. But in the end, she was a child, her body couldn't carry her first, and she got a bad cold. In the hospital bed, infusion of fluids, she also insisted on writing homework, and finally triggered pneumonia. After recovering from the illness, the child's face was smaller. But the final exam results still made us cry and laugh at the 23rd place.

Later, we also tried to increase nutrition, material incentives, etc., several times down, my daughter's little face more and more pale. And, as soon as she said she was going to take a test, she began to have anorexia, insomnia, sweating, and then, the test came in 33rd place, which made our jaws drop.

My husband and I, quietly abandoned the booming activities to help her grow, restored her normal work and rest time, and gave her the right to draw cartoons, allowing her to continue to subscribe to books and newspapers such as "children's humor", the home was stable for a long time. We were heartbroken for our daughter, but faced with her achievements, we were inexplicably confused.

At the weekend, a group of colleagues went on an outing. We each made our own best dishes and took our husbands and children on a picnic. On the way, there was a lot of laughter, this child sang, that child performed a skit. My daughter, who has no skills, just kept clapping happily. She ran to the back from time to time, looking after the food, setting up the tilted lunchboxes, tightening the loose caps, wiping up the run-off juice, busy, like a careful little housekeeper.

During the picnic, an unexpected event happened. Two young boys, an Olympian and an English master, were holding a piece of glutinous rice cake on their plates at the same time, and no one wanted to let go of it, much less share it equally. The adults laughed and sighed and tried to persuade and coax them, but nothing worked. In the end, it was the daughter who easily broke the deadlock with a coin toss.

On the way back, the traffic jam, some children get anxious. Daughter's jokes one after another, the whole car was amused. She didn't stay idle with her hands, using the colorful paper boxes containing food, cutting out many small animals, which attracted the admiration of the group of children. When it was time to get off the bus, everyone got their own Chinese zodiac paper cutouts. My husband couldn't help but smile with pride when he heard the children say thank you one after another.

After the midterm exam, I received a call from my daughter's class teacher. The first thing I learned was that my daughter's grades, were still average. But he said that there was a strange thing he wanted to tell me, the first time he had encountered such a thing in 30 years of teaching.

There was an additional question on the language paper: which of your classmates do you admire the most, and please tell me why. The entire class, except for my daughter, surprisingly wrote my daughter's name. There are many reasons: eager to help people, keep their word, not angry, get along well, etc. The most written is, optimistic and humorous. The class teacher also said that many students suggested that she should be the class president. He exclaimed: your daughter, although the average grades, but can be a very good person ah.

I jokingly said to my daughter, "You are about to become a hero. My daughter, who was knitting a scarf, cocked her head and thought about it, and told me seriously that her teacher had once said a maxim: When a hero passes by, someone should always sit on the side of the road and applaud. She said softly, "Mom, I don't want to be a hero, I want to be the one sitting on the side of the road and applauding."

I jolted and silently gaped at her. She quietly knitted the floss, the light pink thread twisted around the bamboo needles, as if inch by inch the time was spitting out the starry buds in her hands. In my heart, it was suddenly warm.

At that moment, I was suddenly touched by this girl who did not want to become a hero. The world is full of people who aspire to be heroes when they are young, but eventually become ordinary people in the fire and smoke. If healthy, if happy, if not against your heart, our children, and why not be a good ordinary people.

When she grows up, she will definitely become a virtuous wife, a gentle mother, or even a warm-hearted colleague, a kind neighbor. In those long years, she can live the life she wants peacefully. As parents, what better future do you want to pray for your child?