知道母亲的不易与操劳，但平日里，我们总是羞于说出那一声感谢。
母亲节到了，小伙伴们还不抓住机会对母上表达一下。
今天，双语君和大家分享《读者文摘》（Reader's Digest）中几则与母亲有关的温情小故事。
看完故事，如果你有所触动的话，就鼓起勇气，和麻麻说一声，我爱你！
- 1 -
For my brother, my sister, and me, Guitar Hero was a competition of who could score the most points on the hardest level.
对我和弟弟妹妹而言，《吉他英雄》游戏就是在最难一关的比拼，看谁得的分高。
Mom, on the other hand, would play the ten-minute “Freebird” on the easiest level while we kids prepared for our next showdown.
然而，当我们紧张等着下一关一决胜负的时候，母亲却在最简单的一级玩长达十分钟的“自由鸟”。
When Mom restarted the song after missing a note, we all shouted our disapproval.
当母亲错过一个音符时，她总要重新开局，我们就嚷嚷着反对。
“Rock stars do what they want,” she said, and we laughed because we agreed: Mom was a rock star.
“摇滚明星想怎么玩就怎么玩”，母亲说。我们都笑了：母亲确实是一个摇滚明星。
That's why, later, her funeral felt more like the last stop on a farewell tour, with “Freebird” as the perfect send-off.
这也是为什么后来母亲的葬礼感觉更像是一次告别旅程的终点站，“自由鸟”是最完美的送别曲。
- 2 -
On the first day of first grade, I stood by the front door with butterflies in my stomach.
一年级的第一天，我站在家门口，心里七上八下的。
I voiced my biggest concern to my mother: “How will I make friends?”
我和母亲说了我内心最大的担忧：“我该怎样交朋友呢？”
Crouching in front of me, she handed me advice I carry with me to this day: “Be Switzerland.”
母亲蹲在我面前，给了我一个我受用至今的建议：“保持中立”。
Be friends with everyone. Treat everyone equally and fairly. For all of my 20 years, I have lived by these words.
和每个人做朋友，平等、公正地对待每一个人。在我20年的人生中，我一直以此为准则。
Soon I will graduate and become a part of the real world. And on that first day, nervously facing new responsibilities, I know I will whisper two words to myself: “Be Switzerland.”
很快，我就会毕业然后成为真实世界中的一员。在那一天，我将面临新的责任，内心慌乱时，我会轻轻地告诉自己：保持中立。
注：Be Switzerland，指像中立国瑞士一样，在社交上保持中立，不偏不倚，人不犯我我不犯人。
- 3 -
My six-year-old son, Nicholas, sat in the grocery cart as I perused the canned vegetables.
我六岁的儿子尼古拉斯坐在购物车里，我在细看一个个蔬菜罐头。
“How about this one, Mommy?” he asked, and handed me a can of asparagus.
“这个好不好，妈妈？”他问道，递给我一罐芦笋。
“I love asparagus!” I told him. “Asparagus is my favorite vegetable, but it’s just too expensive.” I put the can back on the shelf.
“我喜欢芦笋！”我说，“芦笋是妈妈最喜欢的蔬菜了，但是太贵了。”我把芦笋罐头放回了货架。
Three months later, I opened a crudely wrapped present from under the Christmas tree. It was a can of asparagus.
三个月过后，我从圣诞树下取出了一个包装粗糙的礼物，那是一罐芦笋。
Nicholas beamed in delight as he explained how he had saved his pennies to buy me the best Christmas gift I'd ever received.
尼古拉斯兴高采烈地跟我解释他是如何省下零钱给我买了这个圣诞礼物的，他一边说，一边高兴得满脸带笑。这是我收过的最好的圣诞礼物了。
- 4 -
“Mommy, you are a fairy,” I said.
“妈妈，你是个仙女。”我说。
My mother laughed like tinkling bells.
妈妈笑了，笑声如铃儿叮当。
“I am serious, Mother. You know everything.”
“妈妈，我是说真的，你什么都知道。”
“My child, I try to answer as best as I can. When you grow older, you will not need me,” she said.
“我的孩子，我只是尽力回答你的问题，等你长大了，就不需要妈妈啦。”她说道。
“No, Mom, I will always need you. Nothing can change that,” I said.
“才不是呢，妈妈，我永远都需要你，这不会变的。“我说。
Her words echo in my heart as I look at the blue sky: “Dear daughter, nothing remains the same except the vast blue sky.”
每当我望向蓝天时，她的话语至今依然在我心中回响：“亲爱的女儿，除了我们头顶蔚蓝的天空外，没有什么会永远不变的。”
It has been ten years since I lost my fairy. Mom, you were wrong about one thing: I still need you.
这已经是我失去我的“仙女”的第十个年头了。妈妈，有一件事您说错了：我仍然需要你。
- 5 -
My mom had a great sense of humor and a knack for making every thing fun.
我妈有着强烈的幽默感和让任何事变得有趣的能力。
One thing that resonated with me, even as a small child, was how much she seemed to enjoy her own company and found ways to entertain herself.
她似乎非常享受一个人独处的时间，她总能找到方式让自己开心。这是让我即使在年幼的时候也能产生共鸣的一件事。
As a kid, I remember her giggling while paying bills. What was so funny about bill paying?
当我还是个孩童的时候，我记得她在付账单的时候一直咯咯地笑。付账单有什么可笑的呢？
She would put humorous notes in the reference section of the check: For the electric bill, she might put “You light up my life,” and for the mortgage she’d write “Four shingles closer to owning it all.”
她会在账单的备注部分写下好玩的注解：电费账单上，她会写“你点亮了我的生活”，房贷账单上，她会写“又有了四个瓦片了！离完全拥有房子又近了一步！”
- 6 -
Thirty-five years ago, when my mom was 22, she became a widow and a mother within the same month.
35年前，我母亲22岁，在一个月内，她同时成为了一个寡妇和一个母亲。
The life she had imagined was stolen in a heartbeat. She tried to move on, but was lost.
她此前所设想的美好生活在一瞬间全部化为乌有。她想努力度过难关，但是失败了。
She gave me to my father's family to be raised in the United States.
她把我送给了我父亲在美国的家人收养。
Some call her weak; others call her selfish. I could be bitter.
一些人说她软弱，一些人说她自私，我很可能变得仇恨满腔。
Instead, I'm grateful for the life I have and to have a mother who sacrificed our relationship to give me a chance at a better life. She is courageous. She is my mother.
然而，我很感激我现在所拥有的生活，感激我有这样一位母亲。为了我能过上更好的生活，她牺牲了我们之间的关系。她很勇敢，她是我的母亲。
- 7 -
The day I was dreading had arrived—it was inevitable. I had seen it coming but had chosen to ignore it for as long as possible.
我恐惧的那天还是来了，无法避免。我早预见到这一天会来临，但选择了尽量忽视。
My very capable, intelligent mom had started forgetting to pay her bills, and it was time to take over her finances.
我那无所不能、聪慧异常的母亲开始忘记付账单了，是我接管她的财务的时候了。
As I looked through her wallet, I made a remarkable discovery.
当我查看她的钱包的时候，我有了一个重大的发现。
Tucked away in a tiny compartment were four Mother's Day poems I'd written for her in the 1960s. She had saved and cherished those simple gifts for 50 years. What a happy surprise!
在一个小隔袋里面，收着我在一九六几年写给她的四首母亲节贺诗。原来50多年来，她一直收藏并珍惜着这些简单的礼物。我又惊又喜。
- 8 -
Coming home from work one day, I found my mom dancing to Robert Palmer's “Addicted to Love.”
一天，我下班回家，看见母亲正伴着罗伯特·帕玛的《为爱疯狂》在跳舞。
I watched, enthralled, as she moved and sang along, her hips twisting to the beat, big smile plastered on her face.
我静静看着，深为着迷。母亲边跳边跟着唱，她随着节奏扭着胯，脸上扬起大大的笑容。
It had been a long while since I'd seen her dance, so this display of pure joy was infectious.
我很久没看过她跳舞了，所以眼前这快乐的景象深深地感染了我。
She died unexpectedly in her sleep a few weeks later. I have many memories of her that I'll always cherish, but none quite as happy and carefree as her dance that day.
几周后，她在睡梦中突然离世。关于母亲，我有很多珍藏的回忆，但没有一件能和她那天跳舞时的快乐和无忧无虑相提并论。
- 9 -
My mother was my best friend. She loved cardinals, the male red ones.
我的母亲是我最好的朋友，她很爱红雀，尤其是雄性的红雀。
When she got sick with pancreatic cancer and knew death was near, she told me to always look for the red cardinal—that would be her.
当她罹患胰腺癌、知道死亡近在咫尺的时候，她跟我说，你要经常留意那些红雀，那将是她的化身。
I never paid too much attention to that statement; I was too busy becoming an adult.
我从未在意这些，我太忙于做一个成年人了。
Twenty-five years later, every time I feel at my wits' end, there is a cardinal flying past me or in a nearby tree.
25年以后，每当我不知所措时，我总能看到红雀飞过我身边，或者落在附近的树上。
Is it coincidence, or my mother, all these years later, letting me know that everything will be OK? I'll take the latter.
这是巧合吗？还是我的母亲，在这么多年以后，告诉我一切都会好起来的？我愿意相信后者。
- 10 -
I stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to my mother who lived two hundred miles away.
我将车停在了一个花店前，想要为母亲订一束花，快递到她两百英里外的家里。
As I got out of my car I noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.
下车时，我看见一个小女孩坐在马路沿上哭泣。
I asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."
我问她怎么了，女孩回答道：“我想为妈妈买一支红玫瑰，但我只有75美分，一支玫瑰要两美元。”
I smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." I bought the little girl her rose and ordered my own mother's flowers.
我笑着说：“跟我来，我给你买朵玫瑰。”我为这个小女孩买了朵玫瑰，并为自己的母亲订了花。
As we were leaving I offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."
离开时，我说可以顺便载这女孩回家，女孩说：“好的，您可以带我去见我妈妈。”
She directed me to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.
女孩把我带往了一处公墓，她将玫瑰放在了一块新立的墓碑前。
I returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to my mother's house.
我返回了花店，取消了花束订送服务，选了一束花，开车去了两百英里以外母亲的住处。
编辑：左卓 赵璠<实习>
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