Two things changed my life: my mother and a white plastic bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it's true. I would be a different person if my mom hadn't turned a silly bicycle basket into a life lesson I carry with me today.
Managing the family budget（预算）must have been a very hard task，but my mother made it look easy. If we complained about not having what another kid did, we'd hear something like, "I don't care what so-and-so got for his birthday; you are not getting a TV in your room, a car for your birthday or an expensive birthday party. "We had to earn our pocket money by doing the housework. I can still remember how long it took to shine（擦亮）the legs of our coffee table. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. We made our own beds(no one left the house until that was done）.We had to keep track of our belongings（物品），and if something was lost， it was not replaced.
It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed—and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated（装饰）with flowers，the basket winked（眨眼）at me and I knew—I knew—I had to have it.
"It's beautiful," my mother said when I pointed it out to her. "What a nice basket."
I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I couldn't stand it any longer: "Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as long as you say. I'll do anything, but I need that basket. I love that basket. Please, Mom. Please?"
"You know, "she said，gently rubbing my back while we both stared at（注视）what I believed was the coolest thing ever," If you save up you could buy this yourself."
"By the time I make enough it'll be gone!"
"Maybe Roger here could hold it for you," she smiled at Roger, the bike store Owner.
"He can't hold it for that long, Mom. Someone else will buy it. Please, Mom, please?"
"There might be another way," she said.
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And so our paying plan began.
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Days later, a neighborhood girl appeared with the exact same basket fixed to her shiny, new bike.
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