We Never Told Him He Couldnt Do It
My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured1 us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally2 - but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery3, casts4 and braces5. By the time he was eight, you wouldnt know he had a problem when you saw him walk .
The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldnt be able to run as well as the other children. So he didnt know.
In seventh grade he decided6 to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the TOP seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didnt tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didnt know.
He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. Okay, he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat7 ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldnt run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didnt know.
Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldnt expect to make the team. We never told him he couldnt do it. We never told him he couldnt do it...so he didnt know. He just did it.
从不说他办不到
我的儿子琼尼降生时，他的双脚向上弯弯着，大夫向大家保证说经过治疗，小琼尼可以像常人一样走路，但像常人一样跑步的可能性则微乎其微。琼尼3岁之前一直在同意治疗，和支架、石膏模子交际。七八岁的时候，他走路的样子已叫人看不出他的腿有过问题。
邻居的孩子子们做游戏的时候一直跑过来跑过去。毫无疑问小琼尼看到他们玩就会立刻加进来跑啊闹的。大家从不告诉他不可以像别的孩子那样跑，大家从不说他和别的孩子不同。由于大家不对他说，所以他不了解。
初一的时候，琼尼决定参加跑步横穿全美的比赛。天天他和大伙一块练习。或许是意识到自己先天不如其他人，他练习得比其他人都刻苦。练习队的前7名选手可以参加最后比赛，为学校拿分。大家没告诉琼尼；或许会落空，所以他不了解。
他坚持天天跑4~5英里。我从来不会忘记有一次，他发着高烧，但仍坚持练习。我为他担忧，于是去学校看他，发现他正在一个人沿着长长的林荫道跑步呢。我问他感觉如何，非常不错。他说。还剩下最后两英里。他满脸是汗，双眼由于发烧失去了光彩。然而他目不斜视，坚持着跑下来。大家从没告诉他不可以发着高烧去跑4英里的路，大家从没如此对他说，所以他不了解。
两个星期后，在决赛前的3天，长跑队的名次被确定下来。琼尼是6、，他成功了。他才是个初一生，而其余的人都是初二生。大家从没告诉他不要去期望入选，大家从没对他说他不会成功。是的，从没说起过所以他不了解，但他却做到了！
