It's an old photograph with bad composition and lousy color. The edges are curled up and brown. But none of that matters. The photo is laced with poignant¹ memories so vivid that when my gaze slides across it, tears prick² at the backs of my eyes. I am immediately transported to a place where only good and beautiful images can be found, a place where life revolves³ around lazy afternoons spent on the beach. In this magical place mothers share secrets with daughters, and grandchildren glean⁴ immeasurable bits of wisdom from the cadence⁵ of the waves and the soft tones of the women they love.
 
A mere⁶ moment of our lives, tucked neatly⁷ into a small rectangle and preserved forever - years before anything bad came calling.
 
In the photo, the beach spreads out on either side, a fishing dock to the left, one of Calcite's great limestone⁸ boats far out on the horizon, and on the right, miles and miles of undisturbed beach. The photo is alive with children and women: mothers, sisters, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandchildren. The lone⁹ man in the photo is my father. His shadow stretches long and lean across the restless blue waters of Lake Huron. With immense patience, he casts his line, again and again. My toddler son, his blond curls bleached¹⁰ white, peers across the endless stretch of sand. Mesmerized¹¹ by his grandfather, he jets down the wet beach as fast as his chubby¹² legs can carry him. His sisters give chase.
 
A million dancing whitecaps become myriad¹³ diamonds, straining to outshine one another. The glimmering¹⁴ trail sparkles on the vast and seemingly endless body of water that starts at my feet and disappears into the sky, where seagulls dip and swirl¹⁵, calling to one another as an anxious mother calls to a wayward child.
 
A chaise lounge dominates the photo. In it a woman - my mother - reclines. Mom is spread out in the chair like thick, sweet frosting on a cake. Languid, her arms raised above her head, her legs splayed, pant legs rolled up to expose a goodly length of pale skin. Her arms are bare, the undersides pasty in comparison to the tops. Her smile in repose¹⁶ is tender, sweet, unassuming, and peaceful.
 
To my knowledge, Mom never owned a bathing suit. I don't recall ever seeing her step into the lake, and never before had she sunbathed¹⁷. That day, however, was different. It was as if all her cares had floated out to deep waters like the unattended beach ball had done just minutes before.
 
We are a large family. When my siblings¹⁸ and I were young, Dad was the one who took us to the beach. He sat in the car and watched as we frolicked in the shallows. Mom stayed home to ensure we had a hot meal when we returned. Perhaps Mom was happy for the few moments of alone time at home in the kitchen, as was Dad, alone in the car.
 
On this day, their grown children, with children of our own, treat them to dinner on the beach. Dad fishes off the dock, never swaying from his pleasantries. And, for once, Mom forgets about making dinner.
 
It is a day of memories, a day never to be forgotten.
 
My three children are in the photo, and Dad is in the background, as are two of my sisters and their children, but everyone who gazes at the poorly developed photo is drawn¹⁹ inexplicably²⁰ to Mom's smile. In the photo, her face is raised up to the sky. To the sun or to our Creator, she alone knows. Her eyes are closed.
 
I remember how warm it was that day and how she had squinted²¹ up at me, shielding her eyes with both hands.
 
"Are my legs getting red?" she'd asked.
 
My eyes brim with unshed tears as I remember the feel of her skin on the palm of my hand. Hot. The scalding tears run down my face. How I wish I could touch her one more time.
 
"No, Mom," I replied. "But better put some sunscreen on before you get a burn." Reluctantly, she'd sat up, the peaceful smile disappearing, and rolled her pant legs down, again.
 
"Save it for the kids," she said, her eyes scanning the group of children splashing in and out of the water. The whisper of a smile touched her lips as she watched for a long, wistful moment. With a sigh, she rose from the chair and moved toward the car where the coolers awaited.
 
"Maybe we should get lunch going," she said as she opened the first cooler.
 
Now it is my turn to smile. Mom was not ready to relinquish²² dinner duties, after all. On a whim²³, I turn my face heavenward and close my eyes. I draw a deep breath and search for the special place Mom found that afternoon. It comes to me easily. Without pomp or ceremony, there she is, smiling again. Tears squeeze from beneath my closed lids, and I fervently²⁴ pray that anyone who might come upon me at this moment will say my smile reminds them of Mom's smile, that day on the beach so long ago. Tender, sweet, unassuming - and despite our loss it was peaceful.



  

1 poignant
adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的
参考例句：
His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。 It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

2 prick
v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛
参考例句：
He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。 He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

3 revolves
v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想
参考例句：
The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 glean
v.收集(消息、资料、情报等)
参考例句：
The little information that we could glean about them was largely contradictory.我们能够收集到的有关它们的少量信息大部分是自相矛盾的。 From what I was able to glean,it appears they don't intend to take any action yet.根据我所收集到的资料分析，他们看来还不打算采取任何行动。

5 cadence
n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫
参考例句：
He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。 He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

6 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 neatly
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。 The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

8 limestone
n.石灰石
参考例句：
Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。 Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

9 lone
adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的
参考例句：
A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。 She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

10 bleached
漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的
参考例句：
His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。 The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。

11 mesmerized
v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

12 chubby
adj.丰满的，圆胖的
参考例句：
He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。 The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。

13 myriad
adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量
参考例句：
They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。 I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

14 glimmering
n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句 Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

15 swirl
v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形
参考例句：
The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。 You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

16 repose
v.(使)休息；n.安息
参考例句：
Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。 Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

17 sunbathed
日光浴( sunbathe的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Q: Have you ever sunbathed on a nude beach? 你在裸体海滩浴场进行过日光浴么？ Sometimes we went to the beach and at other times we sunbathed on the patio. 我们有时去海滩， 有时在院子里做日光浴。

18 siblings
n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )
参考例句：
A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

19 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 inexplicably
adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是
参考例句：
Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

21 squinted
斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看
参考例句：
Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。 I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

22 relinquish
v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手
参考例句：
He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。 They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

23 whim
n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想
参考例句：
I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。 He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

24 fervently
adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地
参考例句：
"Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》 O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记