我生命中三位挚爱的母亲

By Barack Obama

母亲节（Mothers Day），是一个感恩母亲的节日。母亲节的传统起源于古希腊，在一月八日这一天，古希腊人会向希腊众神之母“瑞亚”致敬。而现代的母亲节起源于美国，庆祝于每年五月的第二个星期日。人们通常会在这一天为母亲献上康乃馨，康乃馨也因此成为了母亲节的象征。当然，礼物形式多样，重要的是心意，但别忘了最简单的祝福：母亲节快乐！以下是美国总统奥巴马对其生命中的三位母亲的一些感想，感情细腻，简洁干练，既不拖泥带水又能恰到好处地表达深深的感谢之意。

I think its important to recognize that moms come in a lot of different shapes and sizes.

Well， you know， my mother was the single most important influence in my life. I saw her struggles as a single mom. She taught me the values of hard work and responsibility， but also compassion and empathy， being able to look at the world through somebody elses eyes and stand in their shoes. She was somebody who recognized that those of us who have some talents or have been given opportunities that weve gotta give something back， and Ill always be 1）indebted to her for that.

My grandmother. She was very different than my mother， much more sort of 2）stoic and very much displayed her Kansas roots， but was a constant source of strength for all of us. Heres a woman， who grew up in the depression， never had the opportunity to go to college， worked her way up as a secretary to become a vice-president of a bank. Frankly， if there hadnt been a 3）glass ceiling， she probably could have taken over the bank.

Michelles the best mom I know， and she cares deeply about family.

This is my wife， Michelle.

Michelle： Hey. Im his date.

She combines the ability to make the kids feel completely loved， with a real sense of being able to provide the kids limits. Shes very good at it. The proof is in those girls， who are magical. And Id like to say that Ive had something to do with it， but， I think， in fairness， Ive gotta give her most of the credit.

Ive decided not to let you go.

Michelle： OK.

我想，认识到妈妈们各有不同是很重要的。

嗯，你知道，在我一生中，我的妈妈对我的影响最为重要。作为单身妈妈，她为此付出了很多努力。她让我意识到努力工作和责任的价值，以及要心怀同情和理解之心，这样才能够通过别人的眼睛，站在他们的角度看世界。她明白，如果我们的才能被发现并得到发展的机会，那我们应该回馈社会。我会为此而永远感激她。

我的祖母。她和我的妈妈非常的不同，更像是恬淡寡欲的人，有着堪萨斯州人固有的特点，但却是我们源源不断的力量之源。她是这样一个女人——成长于大萧条时期，从来没有机会上大学。她一开始只是一名秘书，后来通过努力一路攀升成为了一家银行的副总裁。坦率地说，如果没有对女性的隐形歧视，她可能已经接管了银行。

米歇尔是我认识的最棒的妈妈，她非常地关心在意家庭。

这是我的妻子，米歇尔。

米歇尔：嗨。我是他的约会对象。

她有能力做到既让孩子们感受到无条件的爱，也能够让孩子们明白什么是不能做的。她很擅长这一点。证据就是我们奇妙的女儿们。我想说的是，这和我也有点儿关系，但是，我想，公平地说，大部分功劳是她的。

我决定让你永远呆在我身边。

米歇尔：好的。

That model of strong， responsible women， but also incredibly loving women， has been a great gift for my girls， cause they can see， every day， the contributions that women are making in their own family， and I think that gives them an enormous amount of confidence as they go forward.

The issues that mothers face； those are issues that matter to all of us， so families count on women having equal opportunity. Thats the reason why that something like the 4）Affordable Care Act was so important， because a lot of times women are paying more for their health care. Thats why I signed the 5）Lilly Ledbetter Act， to make sure that people got an equal days pay for an equal days work， because， when we do that， thats not just good for women. Thats good for our country and thats good for families everywhere.

Happy Mothers Day.

她是那种坚强、负责，而且充满爱心的女性模范，她是我们女儿最好的礼物。因为她们可以看到，在每一天里，这个妈妈都在为家庭付出，而且我觉得这一点都会让她们在前进的路途中充满信心。

妈妈们面对的那些问题是会影响到我们所有人的，因此家庭都会依赖享有平等机会的女性。那就是为什么像《平价医疗法案》是那么的重要，因为很多时候，女人要为医疗保健支付更多。这就是为什么我签署了《莉莉·莱德贝特法案》，以确保人们同工同酬。因为，我们这样做，不仅仅让女性受益，也会让国家受益，也让所有的家庭受益。

母亲节快乐！翻译：Chris