I had an interesting childhood. It was filled with surprise and amusements, all because of my mother—loving, sweet, and yet absent-minded and forgetful. (为什么我的童年很有趣，充满惊喜，那是因为我的母亲是个虽然健忘但是有爱的妈妈）One strange family trip we took when I was eleven tells a lot about her.
读透第一段，把握全文主旨和情节主线！
My two sets of grandparents lived in Colorado and North Dakota, and my parents decided to spend a few weeks driving to those states and seeing all the sights along the way. （我们开车去哪里？目的地？）As the first day of our trip approached, David, my eight-year-old brother, and I unwillingly said good-bye to all of our friends. Who knew if we’d ever see them again? Finally, the moment of our departure arrived, and we loaded suitcases, books, games, camping equipment, and a tent into the car and bravely drove off. We bravely drove off again two hours later after we’d returned home to get the purse and traveler’s checks Mom had forgotten.
David and I were always a little nervous when using gas station bathrooms if Mom was driving while Dad slept: “You stand outside the door and play lookout (放哨) while I go, and I’ll stand outside the door and play lookout while you go.” I had terrible pictures in my mind: “Honey, where are the kids?” “What?! Oh, Gosh… I thought they were being awfully quiet.” We were never actually left behind in a strange city, but we weren’t about to take any chances.（这里是一种幽默的写法，不是实际发生的事实。因为健忘的妈妈在开车，爸爸在睡觉，所以我们两兄弟在加油站上厕所都不能一起去，一个去另外一个要去放哨。要是不这样的话，我就担心我们两兄弟被遗忘在加油站，但是，这样的情况没发生过— we were never actually left behind）
a vacant seat空位 a vacant post/position 空缺的职位 a vacant expression茫然的表情
On the fourth or fifth night, we had trouble finding a hotel with a vacancy(空位). After driving in vain for some time, Mom suddenly got a great idea: Why didn’t we find a house with a likely-looking backyard and ask if we could set up tent there? David and I became nervous. To our great relief, Dad turned down the idea. Mom never could understand our objections (反对). If a strange family showed up on her front doorsteps, Mom would have been delighted. She thinks everyone in the world as as nice as she is. We finally found a vacancy in the next town. （自驾旅行，就是充满着不确定性，比如找不到住处，乐观的妈妈说我们可以找个带后院的家的空地搭帐篷，但被家人拒绝了，好不容易找到了旅馆住下。）
