7 years ago, when I was 24,
七年前，我24岁的时候

my wife was killed in a horrible car accident,
我妻子在一场可怕的车祸中去世了

leaving me in complete shock and grief
我被抛入了剧烈的震惊与悲恸之中
 

I became a single father to our 2 kids
变成了两个孩子的单亲爸爸

at the time they were 1 and 3 years old.
那时他们一个只有1岁，一个只有3岁

I didn't have any post high school education
我只有一份小小的高中文凭

and was working as a construction worker.
职业是建筑工人

Before my wife passed away,
在妻子去世前

we both worked full time
我们都有全职的工作

and were able to rent a small but nice house.
赚的钱还足以租下一件虽然小，却很温馨的公寓

But as a single working parent,
可是，成为唯一赚钱养家的单亲爸爸后

I could hardly make ends meet
我难以应付家里的开支

and had to move in to a tiny apartment.
一家人不得不搬到一个逼仄的小公寓里

That Christmas, when I didn't have enough money left over to get my kids the gifts they deserved,
那年的圣诞节，我拿不出足够的钱去为孩子们买他们应得的圣诞礼物，这时我才知道

I really knew I had to do something.
我知道，自己必须得做点什么才行

I started taking college classes at night
我开始读夜校研修大学学位

while working 2 jobs,
同时还做着两份工作

and after five long years,
五年漫长的时间之后

I graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering
我终于获得了机械工程专业的学士学位

and got a job making 6 figures.
还得到了 一份薪资6位数的工作

I bought a nice house with a huge yard for my kids to play in,
我买下了 一幢大房子，屋前还有一个宽阔的院子，可以让孩子们玩耍

built them a treehouse,
我还给孩子们搭了一个树屋

and have enough time off to spend plenty of time with them.
工作空余的时间也很多，可以陪伴孩子们

Last week,
上星期

I took them on a camping trip in the mountains.
我带着孩子们到山里宿营

It's not until now
直到此时

that I really let myself believe that I actually did it.
我才得以确信，我真的做到了