Give Time to Our Family

by Stephen

Give Time to Our Family

by Stephen

你把学习以外的时间都花在哪里了呢？你是否已经很久没有花时间好好陪伴自己的家人了？向家人表达爱的最佳方式之一便是多陪伴他们，陪伴是最长情的告白。陪伴对每个人，尤其对家人来说，都是意义非凡的。希望每个人都不是“失陪族”，不要再等到“下一次”。

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a1)widowfor 19 years, but the2)demandsof my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only3)occasionally. That night, I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.“What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked.

My mother is the type of woman who4)suspectsthat a late night call or a surprise5)invitationis a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be6)pleasantto spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove to pick her up, I was a bit7)nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had8)curledher hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding9)anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as10)radiantas an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were11)impressed,”she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

The restaurant was very nice and12)cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Halfway through the13)entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A14)nostalgicsmile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time that you relax and let me15)return the favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an16)agreeableconversation—nothing17)extraordinarybut18)catching up onrecent events of each other’slives. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a19)massiveheart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an20)envelopewith a copy of a restaurant21)receiptfrom the same place mother and I had dined. An22)attachednote said: “I paid this bill23)in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two24)plates—one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be25)put offtill“some other time.”

1) widow ['wɪdəʊ] n. 寡妇

2) demand [dɪ'mαːnd] n. 要求，需要

3) occasionally [ə'keɪʒənəlɪ] adv. 偶尔，间或

4) suspect [səs'pekt] v. 怀疑，猜想

5) invitation [,ɪnvɪ'teɪʃən] n. 邀请

6) pleasant ['plezənt] adj. 令人愉快的

7) nervous ['nʒːvəs] adj. 神经紧张的，不安的

8) curl [kʒːl] v. 使卷曲

9) anniversary [,ænɪ'vʒːsərɪ] n. 周年纪念日

10) radiant ['reɪdɪənt] adj. 发光的，容光焕发的

11) impressed [ɪm'prest] adj. 受感动的

12) cozy ['kəʊzɪ] adj. 舒适的，温馨的

13) entree ['ɒntreɪ] n. 主菜

14) nostalgic [nɒ'stældʒɪk] adj. 引人怀旧的

15) return the favor回报，报答

16) agreeable [ə'griːəbl] adj. 令人愉快的

17) extraordinary [ɪk'strɔːdənərɪ] adj. 特别的

18) catch up on（事后）得到关于……的消息

19) massive ['mæsɪv] adj.严重的

20) envelope ['envələʊp] n. 信封

21) receipt [rɪ'siːt] n. 收据

22) attached [ə'tætʃt] adj. 附加的

23) in advance 提前

24) plate [pleɪt] n. 〈美〉一道菜

25) put off 推迟

和我结婚21年后，我的妻子提出让我带另一位女士去吃饭看电影。她说，“我爱你，但我知道还有另一个女人也爱你，并且她很希望能与你一起度过美好的时光。”

我妻子想让我去探望的女人就是我母亲—她已守寡了19年，而出于我工作的需要，再加上还得照顾我的三个孩子，我只能偶尔去看看她。那晚，我打了一通电话邀请她出去吃饭看电影。“怎么了，你还好吗？”她问道。

我母亲是那种典型的女人，会觉得深夜来电或突然的邀约都是坏消息的预兆。“我觉得与您一起度过一段小时光会很愉悦，”我回答道。“只有我们两人。”她想了一会，然后说，“我非常愿意。”

那天周五下班后，在我开车去接她的路上，我有点儿紧张。当我到她家时，我注意到她似乎对我们这次的约会也感到紧张。她穿着外套在屋内门后等着我。她烫了头发，还穿上了那条她在庆祝最后一个结婚纪念日时所穿的裙子。她那像天使般容光焕发的脸上洋溢着笑容。“我告诉我的朋友们说我要与儿子一同外出，她们都很感动呢，”她在上车时说道。“他们都迫不及待地想要知道我们的约会过程。”

那家餐馆环境很好，也很舒适。我母亲把她自己当成第一夫人那样挽着我的手臂。我们坐下后，我必须要将菜单读出声来，因为我母亲只能看到大号的字。在读到主菜的时候，我抬眼看见母亲在目不转睛地看着我。一个令我怀旧的笑容在她嘴角浮现。“你小的时候，都是我来读菜单的。”她说道。“现在你是时候休息一下，该轮到我来读给你听了，”我回答说。在用餐期间，我们的对话都很愉快—没谈什么特别的事，只是说了说各自最近的生活。我们讲了很多话，以致错过了电影。后来回到她家时，她说，“我会再约你出去的，但要先征得你的同意才行。”我答应了。

“你们的晚餐约会怎么样？”当我到家时，我的妻子问我。“感觉很好啊，比我所预想的好很多，”我回答说。

几天后，我母亲由于严重的心脏病发作去世了。这件事来得如此突然，我还没有机会为她做任何事。一段时间后，我收到了上次我和我母亲就餐的那家饭店寄来的信—里面有一张收据的副本。内附的纸条上写着：“我提前把账单结了。我不确定我下次还能不能去；但不管怎样，我提前订了两道菜—一道是给你的，另一道是给你妻子的。你永远不会知道那晚对我来说意味着什么。我爱你，儿子。”

就在那时，我明白了及时表达的重要性，及时表达“我爱你”，把时间留给那些我们爱的人—这是他们应得的。生活中没有任何事能比你的家人更重要。把时间留给他们，因为这些事是不能被推迟到“下次”的。

家人需要陪伴

翻译：浅由吴雨奇