值得珍惜的时刻

Jay Hasheider

Moving away from home is both a good and a sad thing. It is every childs and every parents goal to eventually achieve separation， but it is nevertheless sad when it happens. So it was with heavy hearts on a Sunday in August that my son and I worked to prepare his car for a milestone journey—the day he moved across the country after 20 years of living under my roof.

We started early， but our work went slowly into the afternoon. The Sunday baseball game came on. Our hometown Cardinals were playing the Atlanta Braves.

I 1）overheard bits of the TV broadcast—Atlanta took a two-run lead as we were packing the trunk. The score stayed the same as we fixed snacks for his trip. After that I became absorbed in 2）glum thoughts about his departure and completely forgot about the game. I was stuffing the back seat with the last items when I heard the door open. “Dad，” he said， “come on in. Lets watch the rest of the game. Theyre only down by a run.”

His red-colored eyes instantly told me that he， too， found this to be a difficult passage and that he， too， wanted to share one last father-son moment. Without hesitation I led the way to the TV set. There， we found the game in the ninth 3）inning with the Cards still losing 3–1. “Oh，” he said， “theyre down two 4）runs. Never mind.” His voice cracked with doubt. “I thought they were coming back.”

离家是一件亦喜亦悲的事情。每个孩子都盼着离开父母自力更生，每个父母也都希望孩子长大成人可以独立，但当这一刻真正来临时，彼此仍然会感到悲伤。八月份的一个星期天，我和儿子怀着沉重的心情打包行李装车，为儿子即将踏上里程碑式的旅程做准备——一起生活了二十年之后，他终于要离开我的庇护，远走他乡了。

我们很早开始收拾，但还是收拾到了下午。星期日棒球赛开赛了。我们圣路易斯的红雀队对亚特兰大勇士队。

在装备后备厢的时候，我不经意听见电视广播，亚特兰大领先两分了。直到我们准备路上的零食时，比分还是一样。之后我完全沉浸在离别的阴郁思绪中，彻底忘记了比赛。我在往后座塞最后的行李时听见门开了。“爸爸，”儿子说道，“进来吧。我们把比赛看完。他们只落后一分了。”

看见他红红的眼睛，我马上就知道他也同样觉得分离艰难，他也想共度离别前最后的父子时刻。我毫不犹豫地向电视机走去。那时，我们发现比赛到了第九局，比分3比1，红雀队落后。“噢，”儿子说道，“他们还落后两分。那算了。”他沙哑的声音中带着怀疑。“我还以为他们正追上来呢。”

“Thats fine，” I said， wanting so much to stretch this last moment before he left. “Lets watch anyway.”

The Cards got to bat last. First a single， then another， followed by an infield hit that loaded the bases. Suddenly the game became very interesting. As 5）David Eckstein walked up to the 6）plate with one out， the drama of the game took us over. The sadness of that day was replaced 7）momentarily by watching an exciting baseball game， something we had done many times before.

Thats when the magic moment came. When David Eckstein parked the third pitch into the seats. It was a 8）come-from-behind， 9）walk-off， 10）grand-slam home run， only his fifth home run of the season.

In that one moment we were 11）transformed， 12）ecstatically jumping up and down and experiencing a joy that I could never imagine happening on that 13）bittersweet afternoon. It was a wonderful feeling that made the day， the trip， our life， seem so right.

And then he left.

I believe in magical moments that happen when I least expect them. The joy—amidst the sadness—that we both experienced that afternoon was a gift， a 14）divine presence. Such moments cannot be planned， or even hoped for. They are gifts that appear and then disappear， just like my son as he drove off that afternoon to start a new chapter in his life.

“不要紧，”我说道，多么想在他走之前尽量延续着最后相处的时刻。“无论如何，我们还是看比赛吧。”

最后轮到红雀队击球。先是击出一垒安打，然后又一个一垒安打，接着是击出内野安打造成了满垒。比赛瞬间变得很精彩，当大卫·艾克斯坦踏上本垒并有一次出局时，比赛戏剧性的转变把我们完全吸引住了。那天的悲伤顷刻间被观看激烈的棒球比赛取代。我们父子俩以前就常常一起看球赛。

这时，奇迹一刻来临了。大卫·艾克斯坦将第三次投球击到了观众席上。这是转败为胜的一球，是再见全垒打，是满垒时的本垒打，这是他本赛季的第五次本垒打。

那一刻，我们的心情彻底不一样了，欣喜若狂地跳跃着，感受着一种喜悦，我无法想象这种喜悦会发生在这个苦乐参半的下午。这种奇妙的感觉，使得那天、那趟旅程和我们的生活显得如此稳妥安然。

然后，儿子离开了。

我相信不经意间发生的神奇时刻。我们那天下午体验到的是夹杂在悲伤中的喜悦，它是一份礼物，一个神圣的存在。谁也无法事先策划，甚至祈望这样的时刻。它们是出现、然后又消失的礼物，就像我儿子一样，他在那天开车离去，开始了他生命的新篇章。翻译：Cass