Mother's wish

In 1972, I became a young man in the Production and Construction Corps, and my mother put a light gray sweater and pants in a suitcase when she prepared the pack for me. She said with a long breath: "Finally, everyone in the family wears a sweater and pants, and I have such a wish in my life."

When did my mother start having this wish? I can't tell. I just remember that for as long as I can remember, my mother has been knitting sweaters. As she grew up, I often heard my mother talk about some of her psychological changes. My mother grew up in the countryside, lived in the government compound after entering the city, and engaged in early childhood education for a long time. Among the people she came into contact with, many of them were more fashionable. It was also during the contact that she discovered the sweater thing. In the 1950s and 1960s, sweaters belonged to the fashion category. This can be seen in the advertising paintings, notebook illustrations and movies published at that time. Mother's colleagues also often communicate with each other, whose men have a sweater and whose children have a sweater. The mother is so strong that she wants her husband and children to have sweaters that they can handle just like other families.

I remember that the first sweater in the family was for my father. When I was in elementary school, I took a bus with my mother to her unit. During the noon break, my mother kept asking other aunts for advice on how to knit sweaters, and then, little by little, Knit sweaters. Back at home, my mother asked me and my sister to help her wrap the yarn. At that time, the living conditions were not good, and my mother bought wool little by little. I often hear her say, "I bought back a leg today, I bought an arm back today." The father smiled at her and said, "It sounds scary to say that. "My father's sweater was woven by my mother with one arm and one leg. When my father put on his new sweater, my mother's face blossomed with joy: "Our countrymen also wear 'foreign goods'." In the years that followed, my mother knitted sweaters and pants for my brothers and sisters. In the eyes of many people, knitting sweaters is a leisure activity, playing while doing. But this is not the case in our family. My family has many children, and my father is not in good health. My mother had to manage the life of the whole family, in addition to buying vegetables and cooking, the cotton clothes of the whole family were made by the mother alone, and she also made cloth shoes for several of our children. Later, when she was too busy to come, she began to buy us shoes to wear. In front of a large number of housework, the mother had to knit sweaters and could only take time to do it. To this end, she did not know how much rest time she sacrificed.

When my brother and sister gradually had sweaters, my mother was afraid that I had ideas, so she said to me: "You are the smallest at home, and the sweater should be worn last, don't compare with your brothers and sisters." "It wasn't until 1972, when I was the last one in the family to put on a sweater, that my mother's wish came true. At this time, the mother also put on a sweater, which was also light gray. It was re-knitted after my father's old sweaters were dismantled and washed. I distinctly remember that when this sweater was removed and washed, there were already several holes in it. The mother re-knitted a new sweater for her father, and the old sweater was worn on her body.

I've always kept this in mind. One year, cashmere sweaters suddenly arose, and a friend wanted to go to the northwest to get a batch of goods. I asked him to buy back a few pieces, some of which were for his mother. When I sent the sweater home, my mother smiled: "I have several sweaters and can't wear them", and I forced her to try on this sweater. The mother smiled and said, "It's really warm, or the little son is good." But then she took off her sweater and still put on the old light gray sweater. As she put the new sweater in the box, she said: "I have been very satisfied in my life, at least the whole family wears a sweater (pants). I have this one on me, and you should stop buying sweaters in the future. ”