Inspiration Words: Hand and Consider
Twice, he pushed the pink broom methodically away from him before pausing to sweep the leaves and other debris into the wide dustpan. He didn’t glance up at the cars passing him or the bikes that swerved around him.
Brush. Brush. Collect.
Brush. Brush. Collect.
The rhythmic motions allowed his mind to drift while his feet and arms did the work. His wife told him to be careful and watch out for crazy drivers, but watching every bike or car that drove by was too exhausting. Most of the time, he just relied on the neon yellow stripes on his blue uniform to warn people he was there.
Most of the time, he didn’t think about anything, but today, he was considering his daughter. While he was here on the street, she was in a classroom, in university. She was graduating in June, and he was so proud of her. He had never told her that, but everyone could see it when he smiled at her. She would be the first one in the family to finish university.
He got to the end of the curb and paused under a tree to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. It was nearly November, and after a breath of fall, summer weather was back here in Southern China. Even this early in the morning, he was hot. His pointed straw hat kept some of the sun off his face, but he could still feel the powerful rays through his blue uniform. He took the thick, white gloves off his hands. They protected his brown skin from the sun, but they were also so hot. He stood in the shade for a moment, looking at people heading off to work.
Right now, his daughter would be in her marketing class. When she was younger, he would ask her questions about her classes, but in the past few years, he contented himself with learning just the names of her courses.
He had been looking forward to her graduation and seeing her get her first job. He had been completely baffled last night when she called and told him and his wife that she wanted to continue studying to get a master’s degree.
“Haven’t you been studying long enough? Aren’t you ready to get a job?” He had asked.
“I’ve been trying to get an internship, but I’m having a hard time finding something good. My grades are pretty good, but this school also isn’t very famous. You know bosses are always looking for people from well-known universities. I’ve been trying to take a lot of tests so I can get certificates, but I just don’t have enough time to study for all them. Since I don’t have enough certificates, the better companies don’t really want to hire me. It’s hard to compete with people who’ve graduated from better universities.”
He had looked at his wife helplessly. Who wouldn’t want to hire her? She obviously works hard!
“I think if I get a master’s degree, I’ll be able to find a better job.”
“You know that we’ll support whatever you decide to do,” his wife spoke, and he nodded, forgetting that his daughter couldn’t see him over the phone. “If you want to get a master’s degree, we also want you to do that.”
“Thanks, Mom and Dad. I really have been working hard, but it’s just hard to find a job.”
He and his wife agreed. They wanted their daughter to be able to work in the field that she had studied and prepared for. And since neither of them had been to college, maybe they should trust that she knew what was necessary in today’s job market. He certainly wanted more for his daughter than to be a street sweeper.
He kept walking along the street.
Brush. Brush. Collect.
When his dustpan was full of leaves and dust, he dumped it into a trash can on the sidewalk. He knew his daughter would never give up. He often felt like he hadn’t taught her much, but he had taught her to persevere. Keep studying hard. Keep working hard. Keep collecting certificates at university. Keep collecting trash on the highway. Sometimes that’s all you could do.