My mother’s long hair

From Chinalonghair, translated by huajianyihujiu,duizhuowuxiangqin,jubeiyaomingyue and duiyingchengsanren

When my mother was young, she was beautiful and some-literate and who loved clean and tidy clothes and kept very long black hair like waterfall. Every day, she wore tidy clothes, swinging that black shining hair to go to work, all the neighbors threw their admired eye-lights to her. At that moment, I threw my chest straightly and raised my head high and felt proud of my young mother of her beautiful, black and shining long hair.

My mother care her hair very much, and at that time, we did not have shampoo. In winter, she burnt the acid vegetable water hot with delaine filtrating to wash her hair; in summer, she put a plant called annatto beans in water and used it to wash her hair after steeping. Her hair was long, soft, black and shining, and when I felt sorry or happy to get coquetry, I would fall into my mother and hided behind that long black hair and not to go away for a long time.

At the time of “culture revolution”, my mother was forced to cut her hair shorter. I remember that was when I entered class one in primary school when I was 8 years old in 1960s, one day after school, I skipped into the canteen of the kinder garden of institute quietly and saw my mother wore a big white short gown with a sanitation hat on the head but without that black shining hair. It was on the table near her. I did not see how the hair was all cut but from the tear on her face I just seemed to see that my mother was forced by her head to sit into a chair and with the hand of the head opened a shear passing over her head and the hair which was now cut off was put onto the table and herself became a cook and began doing cooking. Now she was just cut the rest cabbage knot into small parts and delivered it to kids around her, I saw the last one and cried out in a hurry: “Mother, give me that piece.” My mother raised her head and saw me coming with my sorry face and thin hands stretching out, she past me the last one. The son of the “aunt” who should eat the last one looked at my mother with sorry expression on his face and my mother then delivered this last one to that kid with trembling hands. I was so disappointed and cried out with depute.

Now, my mother has white and short hair, but the first time when I saw her white hair gave me a deep memory. One time, I was chatting with mother and she stood against the window with the window opened, mother combed her hair flowing down to her eyes with wind and her hand combed it backward from time to time. I stared at mother, yes! My mother is very beautiful. suddenly, one strand hair of mother was blowing straight up by the wind and under the sunset I see it was a silvery white hair. This thin strand white hair waving in the wind softly, but never to fall down, as if it was calling to me. I got a shock and for the first time I saw the white hair of my mother but still did not believe that my mother is old. How terrible it was, and I can not forbid to fall into my mother. Mother did not know what happened and tired to hold me up, but I just held my mother tightly and feared that she would leave me away. Mother asked me in a hurry what did this action mean and I said: “mother, you have got white hair and I am so afraid that you will be old.” Mother smiled and said: ” silly daughter, everyone will have white hair when she or he gets old and you will have it in the future, but your mother will not be old and so do you.” I also smiled this time and the heart full of fears released at once for I believe in my mother.

After then, I went to work and got parted with my mother, and what ever things I did I felt that my mother was nearby and support me with strength and let me get a feeling of which is still young and energetic.
This year, my mother is 78 years old and her sons and daughters all came to her. Again, we saw her white hair and I think mother told me she will never be old, why? Just then a feeling of sadness raised in my heart and a feeling of no way out also got raised just like you could never throw the falling down leaf onto the branches of the tree.

We forced mother to sit in a sofa and sons and daughters cook one “adept dish” each to give presents to mother. Our family sit around the table and we embraced her in the middle and we all sang the “The birth day song” together and in the waving cadre light, the white hair of our mother turned into golden hair with a smile of welfare on her face.

I stood up and bowed down before mother with a bow in and sang the song for mother solely which was sang by Yan WeiWen first: “Your new school bag is carried by another one. Whatever you are rich or however high of your official post, no time can you forget your mother.”

My mother cried and tears flowing down along her cheek, and I understood at once why the tears of my mother did not go down at that time and why she always said ” I will still be young”, mother is great for she treasured up her weakest emotion and brings the adamancy and honest and happy and young and beautiful feelings to her sons and daughters for ever .

Yes, my mother will never grow old and we all will never grow old, and this spirit influenced our next generation that we all will never be old.