英语美文:我真的做到了

　　7 years ago, when I was 24,

　　七年前，我24岁的时候

　　my wife was killed in a horrible car accident,

　　我妻子在一场可怕的车祸中去世了

　　leaving me in complete shock and grief

　　我被抛入了剧烈的震惊与悲恸之中

　　I became a single father to our 2 kids

　　变成了两个孩子的单亲爸爸

　　at the time they were 1 and 3 years old.

　　那时他们一个只有1岁，一个只有3岁

　　I didn't have any post high school education

　　我只有一份小小的高中文凭

　　and was working as a construction worker.

　　职业是建筑工人

　　Before my wife passed away,

　　在妻子去世前

　　we both worked full time

　　我们都有全职的工作

　　and were able to rent a small but nice house.

　　赚的钱还足以租下一件虽然小，却很温馨的公寓

　　But as a single working parent,

　　可是，成为唯一赚钱养家的单亲爸爸后

　　I could hardly make ends meet

　　我难以应付家里的开支

　　and had to move in to a tiny apartment.

　　一家人不得不搬到一个逼仄的小公寓里

　　That Christmas, when I didn't have enough money left over to get my kids the gifts they deserved,

　　那年的圣诞节，我拿不出足够的钱去为孩子们买他们应得的圣诞礼物，这时我才知道

　　I really knew I had to do something.

　　我知道，自己必须得做点什么才行

　　I started taking college classes at night

　　我开始读夜校研修大学学位

　　while working 2 jobs,

　　同时还做着两份工作

　　and after five long years,

　　五年漫长的时间之后

　　I graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering

　　我终于获得了机械工程专业的学士学位

　　and got a job making 6 figures.

　　还得到了 一份薪资6位数的工作

　　I bought a nice house with a huge yard for my kids to play in,

　　我买下了 一幢大房子，屋前还有一个宽阔的院子，可以让孩子们玩耍

　　built them a treehouse,

　　我还给孩子们搭了一个树屋

　　and have enough time off to spend plenty of time with them.

　　工作空余的时间也很多，可以陪伴孩子们

　　Last week,

　　上星期

　　I took them on a camping trip in the mountains.

　　我带着孩子们到山里宿营

　　It's not until now

　　直到此时

　　that I really let myself believe that I actually did it.

　　我才得以确信，我真的做到了