The Depression was still going on, but I was in good spirits. I was going to graduate from elementary school, yet my mother 1dressed me in shorts. Most of my classmates had given up 2 shorts. For the graduation ceremony, all the boys were 3 to dress the same way-white shirts and dark-blue wool pants.
I waited until a week before I told my mother. I 4 I'd better break the news to her as gently as I could.
"Mom," I said, "about 5……"
"Yes?" she answered.
"They're going to give me the first –prize medal," I said.
She looked 6 her shoulder at me and smiled. "That's wonderful, Babe. Dad and I will both be there, and we'll be the 7parents in the place."
She must have seen by the look on my face that 8 was wrong. She turned her back and said, "So?"
"So, I have to get 9 pants," I said.
"Babe, we don't have the 10 for new pants right now," she said very quietly, "You know that."
"Ok," I burst out. "Then I won't go to graduation. Plus, I'm 11 away from home!"
The following Saturday, when my mother said, "Let's go shopping," I knew she had 12 the problem. We walked a short way and stopped at a place I had never 13 before. My mother said, " 14 here," She entered a storefront that looked like a 15. She came out about ten minutes later, and we went to the pants store. I was holding the new pants 16 under my arm when my mother went to pay for it. I saw her 17 a tiny brown envelope from her purse. There were four 18 new one-dollar bills inside.
About halfway home, I 19 down at my mother's hands. It was then that I saw the wedding ring that had always circled her ring finger was 20 there.
