In 1987, my mother drove a rusty old Renault Encore, a car that could only be described as a clunker. It was small, unattractive, and perpetually breaking down. I was old enough to feel the weight of embarrassment, often insisting that my mother drop me off a block away from school, just so my peers wouldn’t see me getting out of that beaten-down vehicle.
Being on a tight budget meant that we couldn’t afford to take the car to a mechanic, who would likely have advised her to send it to the junkyard. One night, after another frustrating episode with the unreliable car, she stumbled upon an infomercial and ordered a set of DIY auto repair books. Determined, she set out to learn how to fix the Encore herself.
Over the summer, my mother transformed into a self-taught mechanic. She learned to change tires, perform oil changes, fix the emergency brake, jump-start the car countless times, and even replace belts, brakes, spark plugs, and the clutch itself. By the end of summer, she had resurrected that car so many times, we genuinely believed it was invincible.
As the new school year approached, she received a call from the university where she had applied for a temp-secretary position. If she landed this job, it would ease our financial worries about food and utilities. The university was a 25-minute drive away, and my mother was understandably anxious about whether the Encore would make it.
The evening before her big interview, she sat at our electric typewriter practicing speed drills and reviewing dictation techniques. My neighbor lent her a stylish navy blue dress and beige pumps to ensure she looked professional. On the morning of the interview, she hurried us through breakfast and dropped me off at school 45 minutes early, anxious to avoid traffic.
At school that day, I was preoccupied with trivial matters like sunburns and boys, but my thoughts kept drifting back to my mom. Later that evening, she excitedly recounted her day. She arrived at her interview 15 minutes early and made a great impression on the HR manager. The interview lasted an hour and was filled with the usual questions—questions my mom had practiced for.
Once the interview concluded, she returned to the parking lot and found the Encore sputtering, making a terrible noise as smoke puffed from the back. The muffler had fallen off. Without hesitation, she removed her borrowed shoes, grabbed a floor mat, and knelt down to reattach the muffler right there in the parking lot. The HR lady who had interviewed her noticed and approached, offering assistance. My mother replied, “That’s very kind of you, but I can handle this myself. It just takes some grit and determination.”
She was offered the job on the spot. A few months later, the car finally broke down for good, but I never felt embarrassed about being dropped off at school again.
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In summary, my mother taught me valuable lessons about resilience and self-sufficiency. Despite our financial struggles, she demonstrated that with determination and a little resourcefulness, we can tackle challenges head-on and achieve our goals.
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