For One More Day

For one more day

Behind the catastrophic life of Charles “Chick” Benetto lies the eternal love of a mother. Indeed, behind every single child, there are always parents, who furnish their children with a haven.

However, just like Chick in the novel, most of the children, while coming across predicament or jeopardy, attempt to seek out another comfort zone rather than go back to the unconditional one they leave behind. In the book, Chick’s parents got divorced when he was little, and his father had been out of the picture since then. Craving for his father’s attention and love, he chose the life track of baseball, dropping out of college against his mother’s wish. It was not until his mother died that he realized how many times, when his mother needed his company or support, he had failed to stand by her side. Instead, he had always chosen to chase after the ghost of a chance to win back his father’s approval.

In life, unseen supports from parents are like vessels. When we set sail to the faraway destination in the immense ocean, those supports are always there, loading with all our dreams and hope. For most of people, we nurse the dream with so much excitement and determination that we keep gazing at the distant view as though those dreams were something that offers us the ultimate warmness and love. Nevertheless, rarely do we cherish the vessel for not only its function of transportation and shelter but its implied meaning of a comfort of being secured.

In another case, sometimes, we consider ourselves the heavy burden for the vessel. As a result, when it signals for any conditions, we naturally react to it in rather negative ways, deducing those signs as an approach to indicate we are unwelcoming and will be the heavy load to it. However, the truth is the other way around; simply like what Chick’s mother said in the book: “now you know how badly someone wanted you, Charley. Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted.” It may be too naïve to say a teenage girl as I am can thoroughly interpret what the author tried to convey in the line. However, the feeling of being struck in the heart while reading the lines of what Chick’s mother had said to enlighten her lost child was overwhelming.

When I was little, I had great dread of everything I was doing because of my ever solemn father. He has never scolded me, yet the disappointment in his expression has never escaped my eyes. My confidence would falter upon seeing his reaction. I dismally wondered if he was tired of my lack of capacity to refine every decision I made. Through years, with my mother’s help, it has finally dawned on me that the disappointment is actually out of love------having faith in me that I can be much better than my current accomplishment. And now, reading what the author wrote makes me think of the frown of my father and intense atmosphere years ago. After I left home to study in high school, the scowl appears much lesser on my father’s face, yet I found myself thinking of those down expressions of him every now and then. Maybe in some degrees, they are one of the motivations urging me to ignite the brightest fire in my heart.

I know in libraries all over the world, there are thousands of books talking about great love of parents; however, this is the one that touches me the most. A son and his beloved mother, together, their interactions represent most of everything about us related to the realm of family. With the simplest threads of story, the author made the most profound love stand out of curtain, demonstrating it to the world.