That woman carried a new blanket (毛毯) over her arm. Wordlessly, she gave it to me.

“Is it finished?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. It is ready,” she replied. I handed her the money and took the blanket.

“It is beautiful, so skillfully woven (编织),” I said to my mother. “But what did she mean when she said it was not finished? How can it be ready if it is not finished?”

“I will tell you later,” my mother said, “but first I will take you to the Navajo (纳瓦霍) village.”

We went down to the village. A group of young men were making sand pictures. We walked through the whole village, watching the different things the people were doing.

It was not until that evening that my mother finally explained the Navajo woman’s words.

“Did you notice anything about the things the people were making?” my mother asked.

“What should I have noticed?” I looked at her and asked.

“Each thing the Navajo make has one small part that is not complete. The designs in their sand pictures are often not perfectly done, for example — the line of a circle may not quite close. If you look carefully at your blanket, you will probably find a stitch (一针) missing.”

I took the blanket off, but it looked as perfect as any design could be. Then suddenly, I noticed that sure enough a stitch was missing!

“But why do the Navajo intentionally leave some tiny part unfinished?” I asked.

“They believe that when anything is completed or finished, it means the end has come — it will not be perfect until then. Then too, with a circle, they believe that they must leave a pathway for the bad spirits to run away and the good spirits to come in. So, often, they do not make the line close.”

When I was growing up my family was very poor. One year, we celebrated Christmas late because Dad needed to construct a tree from the roadside branches he could find the week after the holiday. Money was a hard-to-come-by thing.

By the time I was in primary school, I had become creative in obtaining money. I used to go to the local flea market on Sundays. On one such visit, I noticed a woman selling a popular toy, the Chinese Yo-Yo, ten for a dollar. I thought I could risk a buck, and I bought ten. By the end of the week, I sold all ten… each for a dollar. When I returned to the market the next Sunday, I reinvested my ten dollars and bought a hundred more.

Being in a difficult financial situation taught me perseverance (坚持不懈) and adaptability early on. I am an elementary school teacher, and every day I see our children are being handed far too much. Second graders are getting the iPhone for their seventh birthdays.

Kids also procrastinate and wait until the last moment to work on their Mission Projects. As a result, Dad runs out to the store, buys everything his daughter needs the night before the project is due, and he stays up long after the late night talk shows，making his daughter’s school project.

How can our kids persevere when Mom and Dad clear all of life’s obstacles (障碍)? How can kids push through and be creative and innovative when they are handed everything they desire?

I have seen parents who are struggling financially put themselves deeper in debt in order to clear a path for their children. This isn’t just bad news for parents and their finances-kids never get the opportunity to problem-solve, to figure things out, to come up with ideas, to engage their brains and feel empowered once they have moved themselves ahead.

I was born in a poor family, 8 siblings, and life was ＂hand-to-mouth＂. If I recall my family experience, I would say each day was a challenge to keep our stomachs filled.

At 18, I gave up a chance to study at a local university. I started working as a salesman because I knew it paid high returns if I could work harder. I worked for Olivetti selling manual and electric typewriters, themes-copiers and calculators.

I put in a lot of time and efforts to learn the products so that I could demonstrate better. Every morning I carried a manual typewriter and shouldered an electric one, from the office to my destination about 2 miles away. I have to carry them because it took very long to arrange a demo(演示) unit through the office protocol(协议), and I was motivated to sell with my sweat and tears.

The next 20 years I worked harder than graduate workers because jobs for non-graduates were few and low with pays.

I understand the reasons why I have to work so hard for extra miles. But no regret, and I cannot let this problem to happen to my children. I must ensure they get to pass the tertiary(高等的) education and at least reach the fundamental standards in their career. I then paid for their education fees.

My children understood and saw the simple lifestyle that my wife and I are having. They say they will repay after they step into employment. They made their grades one by one, and all are working now.

I told my children my past and let them know I gave them wings, but they must know the root! I hope this conscious education will pass through the generations!