When my mother and father got married, they did not have much money.
我母亲和父亲结婚时，他们没有多少钱。
The situation got worse when they had children.
他们有小孩时，更是雪上加霜。
When we were very young, my father had an extra job as a hotel porter,
我们很小的时候，父亲兼职做宾馆搬运工，
and he also mopped the floor of a hotel every night so that he could give us a special treat or a vacation.
每天晚上他还在一个宾馆拖地，以便可以给我们一份特殊的款待或者一次假期。
At the start of last year, my father began putting at least fifty cents every day into a jar on a shelf in his bedroom.
去年年初，我父亲每天至少存15分到他卧室里书架上的罐子里。
We all wondered what he was saving the money for, but he refused to tell us.
我们都好奇他存钱的动机，但是他没有告诉我们。
Then, in December, I noticed that the jar was empty.
之后，在12月，我发现罐子是空的。
That evening, my father came home with some great Christmas presents, including candy, balloons and a huge turkey for our Christmas dinner.
那晚，我父亲拿着一些漂亮的圣诞礼物回家了，礼物有糖果，气球和圣诞晚餐的大火鸡。
It was the best Christmas ever.
这曾是最棒的圣诞节。
My father also helps our local community.
我父亲还帮助当地的社区干活。
As chairman of the community center, he has set up a committee to help senior citizens in the area.
作为社区活动中心的会长，他成立了一个委员会来帮助这个地区的老年市民。
This committee cooks and delivers healthy meals to the senior citizens who are too old to cook for themselves, or too poor to buy good food.
这个委员会为年老无法做饭的老年市民或太穷苦无法买食物的人烹饪并提供健康食物。
My father also helps arrange a Sunday brunch at the community center so that the senior citizens can get together with their friend.
在社区活动中心，我父亲还帮助安排了周日早午餐，让老年市民能和朋友聚在一起。