那么輕，那么重

I’m not ashamed. I like my job. I mean， it isn’t my life’s passion， but somehow I manage to have fun with it. I enjoy meeting new people， and sometimes I am fortunate enough to learn something interesting about someone. It may be my nature that draws me to this kind of job. I work at Izzy’s Pizza Bar and 1)Buffet.

Today an elderly couple came in just after 3 pm. The first thing they said was， “Where is Nan?” Nan normally opens Monday through Thursday and gets off at 4， but today she asked me to come in an hour early. I agreed since Nan is my mother.

You could say this couple was fairly disappointed to learn that Nan would not be in today， since they enjoyed the 2)gabfest with her during the restaurant 3)down time. But when I explained I was her daughter， they were thrilled to meet me. It seemed my mom had bragged about me to all her regular customers. They asked me about school and my sister. We had a nice conversation， comparable to a girl speaking with her grandparents. These are the type of people who give me pleasure in doing my job.

Later that night， I 4)waited on two men. It took some effort to get them to be friendly. I explained I was waitressing over the summer to make some extra cash for school. I also said I was grateful that my mom had trained me， since she was also my coworker. I was new to serving and the restaurant business， but her tips and training have helped me tremendously. They were 5)taken aback at the idea of me and my mother working at the same restaurant. I was a bit confused because I had always received a surprised but positive response from everyone I had told.

Once all the customers had finished eating， I began my closing duties. All alone in the lobby， I worked， using the time to reflect on my day， or rather， life. I rushed around getting everything done， thinking about those two men. Why did they 6)get under my skin? I couldn’t even count the number of times I had talked about my mom at work， but this time was different. This time I was different.

Not very long ago， my mom was a single parent raising two daughters. Although I am now legally an adult， I still haven’t figured out who I really am. I often think of where I came from and wonder where life will take me. I feel blessed to have a mother who believes in me with all of her being. What kept her going all those mornings when she was totally exhausted from working three jobs was her belief that things would get better and that good things would come to those who work hard.

I believe that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. I could have let those men make me feel ashamed， but I didn’t. Why should I be ashamed? I feel overwhelming pride.

Tonight I realized that your job doesn’t have to define who you are as a person. My mother treats people with respect， regardless of their occupation. I meet about a hundred people in a day of work and few leave a lasting impression. Today I met four people who redefined my outlook and left me a step closer to finding my identity. Past， present， and future， I will strive to always have pride in the person I was， am， and aspire to be.

我不覺得丟臉。我喜歡自己的工作。我的意思是，這份工作雖然不是我一生最愛的工作，但是我努力從中獲得樂趣。我喜歡結識新朋友，有時候我還有幸聽到別人的趣事。我之所以從事這份工作，可能是天性使然。我是在“伊斯比薩自助餐廳”做服務員。

今天剛過三點鐘，一對老年夫婦就進來了。他們一開口就問：“南在哪兒啊？”南通常周一到周四工作，下午四點下班，但是今天她叫我提前一個小時來接她的班。我同意了，因為南是我的媽媽。

在得知南已經下班時，他們顯然非常失望，因為他們喜歡和她在客人不多的時候閑聊。但是當我向他們解釋，我是南的女兒之后，他們顯得很興奮。看來，我媽媽拿我跟自己的每個常客吹了不少牛。他們問我學校生活和姐姐的事情。我和他們還挺聊得來的，就像個小女孩跟爺爺奶奶聊天那樣。就是這類人給我在工作中帶來快樂。

那天稍晚之后，我招待了兩位男士。要他們變得友善，煞是費勁。我解釋說，為了賺外快貼補學費，我整個夏天都在這里做服務員。我也提到，我媽媽是我的同事，所以真要感謝她教我如何招待客人。我是新手，對招待工作和這個餐廳的運作一無所知，但是她的指點和教導使我受益匪淺。他們知道我和我媽媽都在同一家餐廳工作的時候，很是吃驚。我也有點困惑，因為每次我告訴客人這個事實后，他們都會很吃驚，但是都會報以肯定的回應。

所有的客人都離開之后，我著手收拾關門。……