“你好像是在责备我当初没能留住你的父亲,是不是?”妈妈问道,虚弱地笑了。
“我是说您放弃了自己的理想,把它给了我!您付出了极大的代价!但这还不是全部,对吗?”
“索妮雅,你不要这样,你太激动了,这对你不好。”“然后,”索妮雅不顾老妇人的话,继续说道,“那次是我第一次当主管,我需要更大的勇气来应付所有的工作,突然,我发现自己拥有了所需的所有能量,可您也是在那个时候失去了所有力量,甚至连早上起床的力气都没有了!”
“看到你成功就够了。”“为什么?”索妮雅在妈妈的轮椅前跪了下来,紧抓住妈妈虚弱的双手,“您为什么要这样对自己?为什么?我不值得您这么做,妈,我生命中的任何成功都不值得您这样做!”
“哦,”妈妈轻抚着她的头发说,“你错了。为了你,为了你的成功,我所做的、所放弃的每一件事都是值得的。”
“妈,妈,我请求您,请收回您的付出吧,我不要自己的成功建立在您的牺牲之上!我不想看着您越来越虚弱,越来越无助,只是为了让我更强壮、更富有、更出名!”
“现在你怎么这么不上进?”母亲问道,“为什么你还没升职?”“我不想说这些!您在听我说吗?我不想让您继续为我牺牲了!”
妈妈低下头来,久久地看着她,然后又点了点头:“啊,对,我知道了,我懂了,亲爱的,你就快升职了,对吗?你就是还需要一点,很小一点力量而已,但是没关系,你很快就会成功,别担心。”
索妮雅诧异地抬起头。“不,妈妈,我跟您说过,您别--不管您要做什么,别再做了!”
妈妈的头此时突然往后一仰,眼神失焦。索妮雅紧张地抓住妈妈的手腕--几乎感觉不到脉搏的手腕,惊恐地求救着。护理员很快向她们跑来。
在护理员到达之前,母亲的眼神瞬间凝聚了一下,最后一下,索妮雅看到了妈妈如往日般智慧的双眸。“生一个女儿,”妈妈喘息着,“也这样对她。”
Father‘s Love 父爱
At an airport I overheard a father and daughter during their last moments together. Her flight was ready for boarding and they were standing near the departure gate. She said,“Daddy,our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever need. I wish you enough, too,Daddy.”
They kissed goodbye and she left. The man walked over towards the window near where I was seated. I could see that he wanted and needed to cry.
I tried not to intrude upon his privacy,but he welcomed me by asking,“Have you ever said goodbye to someone knowing that it would be forever?”
“Yes,I have.”saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all that my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were numbered,I took the time to tell him, face-to-face,how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man wasgoing through.
“Forgive me for asking,but why is this goodbye forever?”I asked. “I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges aheadand the reality is,her next trip back will be for my funeral.”he said.
“I heard you say,’I wish you enough‘. May I ask what that means?”
He began to smile,“That is a wish that has been handed down through the generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.”
The man paused a moment,then looked up,as if trying to remember the details.
“Then we say I wish you enough. We want the other persons to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them.”
He then turned me and shared the following,as if he were reciting it from memory:
I wish you enough sun,to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun,more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirits up.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough hellos to get you through the final Goodbye…… The man then began to sob and walked away.
在家庭中,妈妈的唠叨是源远流长的关爱,父亲的叮咛却是指引未来的明星。
参考翻译(胡尊艳)
在机场,我无意中听到一对父女在临别时的对话。飞机即将起飞,这对父女站在安检门前,女儿说:“爸爸,和您在一起的日子很充实,您的爱就是我的全部需要,也愿您心想事成。”
说完这些他们就吻别了。这位先生走到我座位旁边靠窗的位置,我能感觉到他有一种想哭的冲动。
我尽量不去打扰他的私人空间,他却主动跟我搭话:“您是否曾经跟一个永远不可能再见的人说再见?”
“是的。”话一出口唤起了我多年前的回忆,当年我曾对父亲为我所做的一切表达爱意与感激。因为他在世的日子不多了,我要把握每次机会亲口告诉他,他对我是多么重要。所以我深切地理解这位先生此时的心情。
“恕我冒昧,为什么这次再见会是永别呢?”我问。“我年纪大了,而我们之间相隔太遥远,我刚才看起来很精神,但实际上,下一次再见可能要在我的葬礼上了。”他说。
“我刚刚听你们说,祝您足够,是什么意思呢?”他脸上露出了一丝微笑,“那是我们世世代代相传的一个美好的祝愿。我的父母对每个人都说过这样的话。”他停顿了片刻,仰起头来,似乎在努力回忆什么细节。“然后我们就说祝您足够。我们希望别人的生活能够拥有足够美好的事情来支撑他们。”然后他转向我,跟我分享了下面一段话,如同记忆的复刻一般:愿你的生活充满让你心情开朗的阳光,愿你的生活充满让你更加懂得欣赏阳光的风雨,愿你的生活充满让你神采奕奕的幸福,愿你的生活充满让生活中最小的快乐也尽放光芒的痛苦,愿你的生活充满让你满足欲望的收获,愿你的生活充满让你珍惜拥有的错过,愿你的生活充满让你承受最后道别的问候……这位先生此时已经泣不成声,默默地转身离开了。
The Value of Friendship 友谊的价值
Friendship is both a source of pleasure and a component of good health. People who have close friends naturally enjoy their company. Of equal importance are the concrete emotional benefits they derive. When something sensational happens to us,sharing the happiness of the occasion with friends intensifies our joy. Conversely,in times of trouble and tension,when our spirits are low,unburdening our worries and fears to compassionate friends alleviates the stress. Moreover,we may even get some practical suggestions for solving a particular problem.
Adolescence and old age are the two stages in our lives when the need for friendship is crucial. In the former stage,teens are plagued by uncertainty and mixed feelings. In the latter stage,older people are upset by feelings of uselessness and insignificance. In both instances,friends can make a dramatic difference. With close friends in their lives,people develop courage and positive attitudes. Teenagers have the moral support to assert their individuality;the elderly approach their advanced yearswith optimism and an interest in life. These positive outlooks are vital to cope successfully with the crises inherent in these two stages of life.
Throughout life,we rely on small groups of people for love, admiration,respect,moral support,and help. Almost everyone has a “network”of friends:co-workers,neighbors,and schoolmates. While both men and women have such friends,evidence is accumulating that indicates men rarely make close friends. Men are sociable and frequently have numerous business acquaintances,golf buddies,and so on.
However,friendship does not merely involve a sharing of activities;it is a sharing of self on a very personal level. Customarily,men have shied away from close relationship in which they confide in others. By bottling up their emotions,men deprive themselves of a healthy outlet for their negative feelings.