感谢父母作文英语作文初中【实用20篇】

生活就像一场电视剧，收藏着你很的很多东西！小时候的酸甜苦辣！长大后的幸福快乐！往往都会成为我们的纪念！我们的思索！不是吗？但谁曾想过父爱！母爱！生活他们给予你了多少？你却回报了他们多少？

想想！早上起来是谁给你做早餐？谁每天早出晚归为你而工作？是谁不论刮风下雨都来接你？是谁给予你了父爱与母爱？想一想！

是妈妈每天早上为你做早饭！是爸爸每天早出晚归的为你工作！是爸爸，妈妈无论刮风下雨都来接你！是生活予你了父爱和母爱！他们给予你了太多……

5.12大地震，多少人失去了宝贵的生命？有多少人失去了亲人和朋友？谁曾想过？一个让人成为“魔鬼老师”谭千秋老师在5。12的地震时为保护同学而失去生命！这是一个多么值得敬佩的老师呀！可他的亲人都离他很遥远！很遥远……但在这时我们却安然无恙！却依然拥有了父爱和母爱！是生活给予你了父爱与母爱！你的父亲！母亲！你会过头看看他们他苍老的脸！白花花的头发！他们多渴望你能回到他们的身边呀！

同学们让我们一起去面对生活感谢生活！为我们拥有一个快乐的生活！与父母的关怀！一起去喝彩！一起感谢生活！感谢我们的父母！为我们的未来增添另一份光辉灿烂的未来！……

韩城市实验小学六年级 梁宵璐

January 1st is New Year‘s Day. It‘s a great day for all the people throughout the world. As the saying goes, A good beginning is half the battle. So, many people go all out to celebrate the important day. On that day, I went to the Book City with my classmates. We bought a lot of useful reference books and interesting story books. I believe Knowledge is power. I hope I can learn a lot from these books and improve my study. In the evening, my family had a big dinner party. All the members in my family wished me a good luck in the new year.

父母亲在我们一出生就开始教我们说话，教我们走路，教我们要怎么做人，这才没让我们学坏，我们应该感谢他们把我们带到这个美丽的世界，感谢他们从小把我们一把屎一把尿的拉扯这么大，感谢他们教我们这么多东西。感谢老师

人们都说：“父母亲是我们的第一位老师。”那么学校里的老师就是我们人生里的第二位启蒙老师。在学校里老师们无私奉献的传授了我们知识，教我们将来要怎么在社会上立足，他们就像一盏蜡烛，默默无闻的为我们照亮一切道路。我们应感谢他们为我们所做的一切，感谢他们教会了我们这么多的知识。感谢朋友

人们无论是在学校、社会上都可以交到许多朋友，朋友在我们的人生道路上也发挥了很大的作用，当我们在茫然的时候，他们可以帮助我们走出茫然等不开心的时候，我们都离不开朋友的关心和帮助，我们大家都想少一个敌人，多一个朋友，我们应该感谢朋友陪伴我们一起走这条人生路，感谢朋友陪我们一起喜怒哀乐。

人是离不开感谢的，我们感谢了他们，他们也会感谢我们的，感谢这个词为我们开阔了一条光明的道路，感谢在世上是无所不在的。

Since I came to middle school, I have to learn so many subjects, at first,

I could not catch up with my classmates, I felt so worried. So I decided to keep

studying every night. After finishing dinner, I went to my bedroom and did my

homework. But when I finished my homework, I forced myself to go over other

subjects. Though I was very tired, I still keptstudying until midnight. But it

did not work, I did not made progress. I talked to my teacher, she told me to

relax and had a good rest, I needed to be patient and made progress step by

step. I realized my mistake and adjusted my method and it works.

星期六晚上，吃好饭，妈妈加班快要迟到了，于是急急忙忙地收拾好东西，临走前跟我说：“碗等我回来再洗，你先看会电视吧!”说完，便走了。站在阳台上，看着妈妈忙碌的背影，心里一酸，好难受啊!我决定帮妈妈洗碗，给妈妈减轻负担。

我来到水池旁边，看着一大堆碗，原本以为洗碗很容易的我，顿时，嘴翘的老高，自言自语地说：“呀!这么多碗我怎么忙得过来呢?”我有点不想洗了，但又想到妈妈整天那么忙，我应该帮她一下忙。于是，回想妈妈以前是怎么洗的，“想到啦”我先打开水龙头，水“哗啦哗啦”的流进水池，等水差不多到一半的时候，我把水龙头关掉。

再把剩菜剩饭全部倒掉，然后拿来海绵，用水沾湿，使劲擦，咦?怎么油老是擦不掉呢?我灵机一动，啊，妈妈平时洗碗都要用上她的“清油工”——洗洁精。我把洗洁精挤在海绵上，再擦，一个接一个，啊!都没有油了，可是我的衣服上都是水，像落汤鸡一样，看着满水池都是泡，我不由自主的玩起了“泡沫大战”弄得墙上到处都是。

最后“泡沫大战”结束了，我又用清水把碗冲干净。哇!一只只光滑、透亮的碗闪亮登场!接下来轮到筷子了，我在用海绵使劲擦，最后用水冲干净。“清油工”和海绵表演完后，他们又陆续地回归到自己的座位。

妈妈回来了，看见碗洗的干干净净的。说：“小宝贝，你长大了，懂事了。我听了，心里美滋滋的。

Because the Spring Festival is the most solemn traditional festival of Chinese folk. In the first month of the summer calendar, also known as the lunar calendar, commonly known as "New Year", "New Year". Every year, the streets are covered with red lanterns and colorful flags. The mall is a sea of people, buying New Year goods, but lively. Grandma prepared a hearty meal, with a lot of "bam, bam, bam" on the outside, and the guns  . Every little friend put on a beautiful new dress, and the grown-ups smiled with satisfaction. Until dad bought me a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, in the evening, I will take out fireworks went downstairs and children put together, we play very happy, the party began, I was reluctant to go home, eat fruit while watching the party together with family, a good laugh at our wonderful performances, wish: I wish that every day is New Years day! I also like the double ninth festival.

Recently we have held a class meeting to discuss what is considered to be

honorable behavior and what is shameful. It is really a pity to see all this in

our school.Some students dont respect their teachers or parents.Some dont take

their studies seriously and cheat in exams.Some throw wastes everywhere and

pollute the environment .It is honorable to obey the law and rules , care much

about our class and study hard.It is shameful to break school rules, to be

selfish or to make little effort to achieve success.We should respect others and

think more of them than of ourselves.We should work hard and make much more

progress to repay the society. We should try our best to keep the environment

clean。

Spring Festival ,known as the Chinese New Year,is the most important

holiday in China.From late January to early February,Chinese people are busy

preparing for the New Year.They clean their houses ,have their hair cut,and buy

new clothes .Jiaozi or dumpling is most popular.To those who live far away from

their home,this festival is also a framily reunion occasion.

And they often go back home to celebrate the festival with their family.The

first day of the new year is the time when people visit their friends adn wish

each other good luck in the new year.

Since I go to school, my parents always tell me that I should study hard,

so that I can find a good job in the future and earn a lot of money. To most

people, the purpose of reading books is to make money. But as I study more, I

realize that making money and reading books don’t have the directly connection.

The children should know more about the world by reading more books, at the same

time, they need to sense the great joy of reading. When they are equipped with

knowledge, they can solve problems by the skills they learn, the most important

thing for them is to face difficulties with positive attitude.

My Home Town

请你根据下面的提纲，以“我的家乡”为题，写一篇100—120字的短文。

提纲：

(1) 家乡的地理位置；

(2) 解放前的情况；

(3) 解放后的变化；

(4) 对家乡的感情。

My Home Town

My home town is a beautiful place. It stands beside a wide river and is rich in fish and rice.

But in the old days it was a poor and backward little town. Many people had no work. They lived a hard life.

In 1949 my hometown was liberated. Since then great changes have taken place there. The streets have been widened. Factories, schools, hospitals, cinemas and theatres have sprung up one after another. The life of the people is greatly improved.

I love my hometown. All the more I love its people. They are working hard so as to make it still richer and more beautiful.

[我的家乡初中英语作文120字

在我们的生活中，发生过许多难忘的事，其中最让我难忘的是去年暑假妈妈教我刷碗这件事。

平日里，我看到妈妈每天都要做很多家务，很辛苦，晚饭后还要洗碗，我心想：如果我能帮妈妈做一些家务该多好啊!可是我会做什么呢?从最简单的开始吧!我感觉洗碗应该比较容易，正好现在是暑假，我不用上学，学习洗碗最好不过了。晚饭过后，我请求妈妈教我洗碗，妈妈答应了。只见妈妈把碗放进水池里，再挤上洗洁精，一手拿碗一手拿抹布顺着碗转一圈，最后把泡沫冲干净。我学着妈妈的样子洗了起来，可是一开始洗就发生了一个意外，洗洁精放太多了，我的手一滑，碗就被摔到了地上。我吓了一跳，心想碗肯定破了，我往地上一看，幸好碗没有破，只是破了一小块角。我看到一个好端端的碗瞬间变成了“乞丐碗”，心里难过极了，对洗碗也失去了信心。原以为洗碗是很简单的事情，没想到竟然这么难。

妈妈看到我垂头丧气的模样，便安慰我，并且鼓励我坚持下去。我心想既然要帮妈妈的忙，就不能半途而废。我吸取了上次的教训，小心翼翼地继续洗着碗，到最后，我终于把碗洗干净了，而且再也没有把碗摔破了。

我洗好碗发现双手被水泡得皱皱的，也终于知道了妈妈的手为什么越来越粗糙。我以后一定会继续帮妈妈洗碗，帮妈妈分担家务，让妈妈不再那么辛苦。

As is known to all, China is popular for its emperor of bicycles. This is

because our country is still a developing country and few people can afford

private cars. The demand for a means of transport is met by making millions of

bicycles available. Riding a bicycle has a lot of advantages over driving a car.

First, it is a physical exercise to ride a bicycle. In contrast, sitting in the

car, one tends to gain weight. Besides, it is nmch more economical to ride a

bike than drive a car. On the one hand,the only fee a bike-rider has to pay is

the annual tax. However, the annual fees for a car are costly. On the other

hand, a bike neednt be equipped with a parking lot, but a car must. Most

important of all, it is beneficial to the environment to ride a bicycle because

the bike doesnt consume petrol; it is a pollution-free transport. In contrast,

the exhaust released by the car is harmful to the environment. Since China is a

developing country with a large population, bicycles will still be the most

popular means of transport in China for quite a long time. Most people will

still ride bicycles to go to work or to school. The emperor country of bicycles

will remain for at least dozens of years.

【—之雪】冬天的时候，我们最期盼有雪的降临，因为雪世界变得格外的纯净。

季节作文：以雪为题写一篇英语短文

SNOW

At dusk，the weather became colder while the sky was gray，and the cold wind was blowing strongly.It seemed that it was going to snow soon. A moment later，the snowflakes began to fall quietly.Soon the land before my eyes was all white，like a beautiful blanket.Then it snowed more and more heavily.The trees were all covered with white quilts.The whole city became a silver world. The next morning，it stopped snowing and cleared up.I went into the yard.Looking far away，I saw a beautiful silver white world.A group of children were playing happily.Some were throwing snowballs to each other，others were making a snowman.Snow seemed to bring us warm and wishes.Cold as it was，nobaby felt cold in the white world. I love snow，because it is pure white.It brings us hope and vigour.

虽然雪景很美，但是同学们在外面玩雪的时候，要注意保暖哦！

初中英语语法对地点状语从句的总结

【—语法对地点状语从句的总结】下文为同学们带来的是对地点状语从句的讲述及where, wherever 引导词的介绍。

地点状语从句

地点状语从句通常由where, wherever 初中物理 引导。

Where I live there are plenty of trees.

我住的地方树很多。

Wherever I am I will be thinking of you.

不管我在哪里我都会想到你。

对上述例句的介绍，希望同学们对地点状语从句能够有所了解。

初中英语语法对if, whether引导的名词从句的用法总结

【—语法对if, whether引导的名词从句的用法总结】同学们对if, whether引导的名词从句是否有一定的了解？如果没有的话，看老师为大家带来的具体分析。

if, whether引导的名词从句

1）yes-no型疑问从句

从属连词if, whether引导的名词从句是由一般疑问句或选择疑问转化而来的，因此也分别被称为yes-no型疑问句从句和选择型疑问从句，其功能和wh-从句的功能相同， 例如：

主语：Whether the plan is feasible remains to be proved. 这一计划是否可行还有等证实。

宾语：Let us know whether / if you can finish the article 初中学习方法 before Friday. 请让我们知道你是否能在星期五以前把文章写完。

表语：The point is whether we should lend him the money. 问题在于我们是否应该借钱给他。

同位语：They are investigating the question whether the man is trustworthy. 他们调查他是否值得信赖。

形容词宾语： Shes doubtful whether we shall be able to come. 她怀疑我们是否能够前来。

介词宾语： I worry about whether he can pass through the crisis of his illness. 我担心他是否能度过疾病的危险期。

2）选择性疑问从句

选择性疑问从句由关联词if/whether…or或whethe…or not构成，例如：

Please tell me whether / if they are Swedish or Danish. 请告诉我他们是瑞典人还是丹麦人。

I dont care whether you like the plan or not.我不在乎你是否喜欢该计划。

看完之后，同学们是否理解了呢？如果还有什么疑问的话可以参考！

英语学习的十句经典名言

1. What is language for? Some people seem to think its for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words--- the longer the words the better. Thats wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas, for communication。

语言到底是用来干什么的呢?一些人认为它是用来操练语法规则和学习一大堆单词--而且单词越长越好。这个想法是错误的。语言是用来交换思想，进行交流沟通的!

2. The way to learn a language is to practice speaking it as often as possible。

学习一门语言的方法就是要尽量多地练习说。

3. A great man once said it is necessary to drill as much as possible, and the more you apply it in real situations, the more natural it will become。

一位伟人曾说，反复操练是非常必要的，你越多的将所学到的东西运用到实际生活中，他们就变的越自然。

4. Learning any language takes a lot of effort. But dont give up。

学习任何语言都是需要花费很多努力，但不要放弃。

5. Relax! Be patient and enjoy yourself. Learning foreign languages should be fun。

放松点!要有耐性，并让自己快乐!学习外语应该是乐趣无穷的。

6. Rome wasnt built in a day. Work harder and practice more. Your hard- work will be rewarded by god one day. God is equal to everyone!

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒。更加努力的学习，更加勤奋的操练，你所付出的一切将会得到上帝的报答，上帝是公平的。推荐爱思英语论坛每日英语系列。

7. Use a dictionary and grammar guide constantly. Keep a small English dictionary with you at all time. When you see a new word, look it up. Think about the word-- use it, in your mind, in a sentence。

经常使用字典和语法指南。随身携带一本小英文字典，当你看到一个新字时就去查阅它，想想这个字---然后去用它，在你的心中，在一个句子里。

8. Try to think in English whenever possible. When you see something think of the English word of it; then think about the word in a sentence。

一有机会就努力去用英文来思考。看到某事时，想想它的英文单词;然后把它用到一个句子中去。

9. Practice tenses as much as possible. When you learn a new verb, learn its various forms。

尽可能多的操练时态。学习一个动词的时候，要学习它的各种形态。

10. I would also like to learn more about the culture behind the language. When you understand the cultural background, you can better use the language。

我想学习和了解更多关于语言背后的文化知识，当你理解了文化背景，你就能更好地运用语言。

初中英语学习关于above与over的技巧

两者都可表示“高于”，over 主要表示垂直在上的正上方，而 above 则不一定表示正上方。简单地说，就是表示正上方，两者都可用；不表示正上方，则通常用above：

They built a new room above [over] the garage. 他们在车房上加盖了一个新房间。

He stayed at the hotel above the lake. 他住在可以俯瞰湖泊的旅馆里。

【注】若含有动态或覆盖的意味，通常用 over，而不用 above：

You must climb over the hill. 你必须爬过这座山。

He put his hands over his eyes. 他用双手蒙住眼睛。

上述是对于above 与over的区别介绍，希望同学们能够好好的掌握。不懂的可以参考。

初中英语学习方法之巧记lie和lay

【—之巧记lie和lay】以下的内容是对英语学习方法巧记lie和lay的讲解。

巧记lie和lay

躺 lie,lay,lain,lie in bed again;

撒谎 lie,lied,lied,dont be a liar;

产蛋 lay,laid,laid,a hen laid an egg;

放置 A loy picked it up,and laid it in the bag.

通过上面对巧记lie和lay英语学习的方法讲解，相信同学们对此学习方法可以很好的掌握了，希望同学们在考试中取得很好的收获。

初中英语作文大全之不要乱扔垃圾

【—之不要乱扔垃圾】我们只有一个地球，所以要保护好我们的地球，不要乱扔垃圾。

As we all see, the environment is polluted by a lot of waste things.Some people throw the daily refuse into rivers or on the street at random. 字串9

This is one reason for the environmental pollution. So in daily life I will consciously put the rubbish into the rubbish bin to reduce the contamination.

“不要乱扔垃圾”译文：

正如我们所看到的，环境受到很多废弃物的污染。一些人把生活垃圾随便扔到河里、大街上。这是环境污染的一个原因。所以在日常生活中，我很自觉地把废弃物扔到垃圾桶里来减少污染

如果想要生活在一个美好的环境中，那么就好好的爱护这唯一的地球吧！

亲爱的爸爸妈妈：

您们好!

最近一段儿时间，我深深体会到你们的爱!因为，我长大了!

你们不让我玩电脑，是爱，让我努力学习，是爱，让我每天做运动，也是爱!然而，以前的我是那么倔强，那么的固执!现在，我感到那是大不敬的罪行。是你们用爱一次又一次地感化了我!

你们为了我的学习不惜付出一切代价。以前，我对此不屑一顾，认为这就叫做"理所当然"。但是，现在我明白了一切!感悟了一切!是你们用爱一次又一次地抚慰我!

你们知道吗?现在的我已经不像以前那样没有人生目标了。但是。人不可能是十全十美的，总会有一些缺点，我也不例外。粗心大意便是我成功道路上的一块"绊脚石"。这一点你们也经常提醒我。我坚信，在不久的将来，我一定会把这些缺点一一改掉。

想想我已经快14岁了，14年来，我给了你们多少关怀?又有多少安慰呢?这个数字我连想都不敢想!长长黑夜，这是我的心绪!每一次总是在夜深人静的时候，我才会想起你们，可是在天亮的时候又忘了你们的心酸!虽说自己明白，却分文不值。有时候我会觉得自己还小，这，只是个虚伪的借口。人总在无知的时候，会找个愚蠢的借口，来弥补自己的过错。想想又何必呢?骗得了爸妈，骗得了自己，却永远骗不了自己的良心!曾经的过错总是让我迷失，几时才能觉悟便又是一个借口!错，还在继续!没有旁人的提醒便又是一个借口!错，还在继续!……人生有太多的无奈，常常迷失了自我。

现在我终于明白了，总之，爸爸妈妈对我的爱用语言是无法形容的，那种爱既无私有伟大!我真想报答爸爸妈妈的爱，但那爱如大海，如泉涌，是永远报答不完的!所以，我要用今后的努力与追求来报答你们，孝敬你们。祝父母：

身体健康!万事如意!天天快乐!

Every year, the thing I expect the most is the Spring Festival. My parents

work far from home and they come back one or two times a year. The Spring

Festival is the time they come home. Every time they come back, they bring mangy

things to me. When I was little, they bought me toys, new clothes and shoes.

Now, they often buy me books. They say more reading is good for me. They hope I

can learn more. The time spend with them is always happy but short. They only

have half a month at home. I hope they can stay at home longer.

Everyone always has a good Sunday. On Sundays， everybody does some things what he like.

Last Sunday， Jack had a relaxing Sunday. He got up 6 o’clock. After breakfast， Jack played basketball with his friends. They were very happy. Then he played the guitar in the room. And he sang songs very loudly. Though it’s very relaxing for him， it also make very noisy for neighbors. Maybe he should turn down the music. At noon， jack fed his pet cat henry. He is Jack’s favorite. Jack always play with him on the weekends. At night， he watched TV on the sofa. At the some time， he ate many delicious snacks. So he really had a great time.

At the of day， jack thought if I always have a relaxing Sunday like today. I will become the happiest boy all over the world.

My Favourite Sport英语作文一

I like doing sports very much.My favourite sport is swimming.I often go to swim with my good friend Lily.She likes swimming ,too.And she is very good at it.She always swims better than me.When I am swimming in the pool,I am very happy.I look like a lovely fish in the pond.I enjoy swimming,because swimming can make me strong and healthy.It can also bring me a lot of happiness.Of course,I like watching this sport.I hope I will become a swimmer in the future.

My Favourite Sport英语作文二

There are many kinds of sports that I enjoy,such as swimming,running,and dancing.However,the sport that I like most is basketball.When I was in junior high,I started to play basketball in school.At that time,I found I had loved deeply this sport.Now,I would like to watch basketball games as much as I can.The basketball games have given me the most wonderful time in my life.

My Favourite Sport英语作文三

I like badminton and basketball，basketball is my favourite sport，I like basketball best.

I always wear a T-shirt，shorts and runners to play basketball. I can throw the basketball in the net， I think it is easy， but someone think it is hard， I can catch the basketball，too. On Sundays，I am a bbasketball player.I like to watch basketball game on TV， Yao Ming is my favourite basketball player， I want to be a real basketball player someday.

Guo Jingming is a famous writer in China. I think all the students have

known him. He is also my favourite writer. He was born in 1983. He has published

many books, such as "Visionary"," The Summer Still Doesnt Come"…These books are

very touching.

I often cry and shed bitter tears while I am reading his books. I thought

he was a pessimistic person but now I think he is sensational person. He doesnt

want to grow up judged by this. I think he is pure and naive. Although he is a

writer, he studies well.

I admire him very much. His words are common, but they make people feel

quite close to him. I hope he can write better articles and I want to be a

writer like him when I grow up.

每个人都有一颗感恩的心，有的想感谢父母，有的是老师、同学，还有的是祖国，而我觉得我最想感谢的是父母，父母把我们带到这世界又含辛茹苦的把我们从婴儿养育成能读书写字的青少年，父母为我们付出了很多，很多。

我的爸爸妈妈是普通的农民，是千百万劳动人民中的一员，然而父母在我的心中好比两颗参天大树，而我是树下一株弱不禁风的小花，大树毫无怨言，时时为小花遮风挡雨，让小花一天比一天开得更灿烂，而大树的枝叶却在一天天地凋零。那天，爸爸帮我检查作业，我站在爸爸的身边，忽然我发现爸爸变得严厉了，作业中出现了好几道错题，爸爸的脸立刻变得沉静下来对我严厉的说：“你上课去哪了，怎么错误这么多呀，你是不是不认真。”虽然爸爸很严厉，但我看到爸爸眼中的慈爱。他们每天早出晚归，辛苦劳作是为了家，为了我和姐姐读书，为了让我们能在学校吃好，穿好，学好。现在我唯一能报答他们的就是做个孝顺，听话懂事的孩子，好好的学习，让他们看到自己优异的成绩。

冬天到了，天气冷了，妈妈就给我买了一件新外套，由于我的粗心大意，与朋友们一起玩游戏时不小心把衣服划破了。看到这划破的衣服我感到很伤心，很难过。回家后，我不敢告诉妈妈，因为我怕她骂我，但最后，妈妈还是知道了，她不但没有骂我，还和蔼地对我说：“没事缝一缝就好了。”妈妈的这句话让我感到很内疚，于是妈妈把针和线拿出来，就一针一针的穿进我的衣服，这时让我想起一首“慈母手中线，游子身上衣，临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。”虽然我不是去打仗才能穿上母亲缝的衣服，而我是在家里被划破妈妈就帮我缝，缝好了，妈妈叫我小心一点，我高兴地穿上衣服就跑出去玩了。

世界上最伟大的爱是父爱和母爱，是爸爸妈妈给予我生命，是他们用泪水和汗水哺育了我，从小到大，父母对我总是宽容、理解、无微不至，现在的我们不能用金钱回报他们，要从每一件小事做起，在心里感谢父母，而对我父母最好的回报就是努力学习，成为有用之才。

感谢父母，感谢他们给予我生命，感谢他们对我的理解、支持。

With the development of technology, today, our life is facilitated with all

kinds information sources. We can read books on the Internet, which is much

convenient than buying the books in the stores. I like to read E-books, because

there are many advantages. First, I can save a lot of money. Downloading the

E-books is for free, I can find all kinds of free sources. It is good for

students because they can save the money. Second, I can save a lot of time. Some

books are not easy to be found in the bookstore, sometimes I need to go to

several shops. But if I search the Internet, then the information is in front of

me. How fast it is.

When memory began for me, my grandfather was past sixty-a great tall man

with thick hair becoming gray. He had black eyes and a straight nose which ended

in a slightly flattened tip. Once he explained seriously to me that he got that

flattened tip as a small child when he fell down and stepped on his nose.

The little marks of laughter at the corners of his eyes were the prodnct of

a kindly and humorous nature. The years of work which had bent his shoulders had

never dulled his humour nor his love of a joke.

Everywhere he went, "Gramp" made friends easily. At the end of half an hour

you felt you had known him all your life. I soon learned that he hated to give

orders , but that when he had to, he tried to make his orders sound like

suggestions.

One July morning, as he was leaving to go to the cornfield, he said :

"Edwin, you can pick up the potatoes in the field today if you want to do that.

" Then he drove away with his horses.

The day passed, and I did not have any desire to pick up potatoes. Evening

came and the potatoes were still in the field. Gramp, dusty and tired, led the

horses to get their drink.

"How many bags of potatoes were there?" Gramp inquired. "I dont know.

"

"How many potatoes did you pick up?"

"I didnt pick any. " "Not any! Why not?"

"You said I could pick, them up if I wanted to. You didnt say I had to.

"

In the next few minutes I learned a lesson I would not forget: when Gramp

said I could if I wanted to, he meant that I should want to.

Gram hated cruelty and injustice. The injustices of history, even those of

a thousand years before, angered her as much as the injustices of her own

day.

She also had a deep love of beauty. When she was almost seventy-five, and

had gone to live with one of her daughters, she spent a delightful morning

washing dishes because, as she said, the beautiful patterns on the dishes gave

her pleasure. The bird, the flowers, the clouds-all that was beautiful around

her- pleased her. She was like the father of the French painter, Millet, who

used to gather grass and show it to his son , saying , "See how beautif ul this

is ! "

In a pioneer society it is the harder qualities of mind and character that

are of value. The softer virtues are considered unnecessary. Men and women

struggling daily to earn a living are unable, even for a moment, to forget the

business of preserving their lives. Only unusual people, like my grandparents,

manage to keep the softer qualities in a world of daily struggle.

Such were the two people with whom I spent the months from June to

September in the wonderful days of summer and youth.