While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about — the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me.
當我在俄勒岡州的波特蘭機場等待接一位友人時，我有了一次足以改變人生的經歷，就像你聽到別人談起的那樣，那種出人意料地悄悄接近你的事，它就發生在離我兩尺開外的地方。
Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
當我緊張地盯著下飛機的出口在人群中找尋朋友的身影時，我注意到一個男人向我走來，手里提著兩個輕提包。他正好在我身旁停了下來，問候他的家人。
First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other's face, I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, "Me, too, Dad!"
當他放下包裹時，他首先向最小那個孩子示意者（大概6歲），他們給了彼此一個長長的，充滿愛意的擁抱。當他們分開后打量彼此的臉龐時，我聽見父親說：見到你真好，兒子，我真是太想念你了。孩子竟有些害羞地笑了笑，移開視線溫柔地回復到：我也一樣，爸爸。
Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son's face in his hands said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.
男人站起身來，凝視著大兒子（大約九、十歲），把他的臉捧在手心，說：“你已經是個大人了，我非常地愛你，扎克。” 他倆又來了一個溫柔的、充滿愛意的擁抱。

While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, "Hi, baby girl!" as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.
就在此時，一個女嬰（也許一歲或一歲半的樣子）在母親的臂彎里興奮地扭動著身體，眼神一刻也沒有從她歸來的父親身上離開。男人說道：“嗨，我的小寶貝！” 說著他輕輕地從母親手中接過孩子，飛快地親吻了她的臉龐，把她抱在胸前輕輕地搖晃起來。嬰兒立即放松下來，把頭枕在他的肩上，安靜而滿足的模樣。
After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. "I love you so much!" They stared at each other's eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.
過了一會兒，他把小女兒交給了大兒子，然后宣布：“瞧我把最好的留到了最后！”只見他徑直走到妻子身邊給了她一個我所見過的最長的，最有感情的吻。他凝視著愛人的眼眸足足有好幾秒，然后輕輕地耳語道：“我非常愛你。”只見他們互相凝視著彼此，手牽著手，為對方送上會心的微笑。
For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, "Wow! How long have you two been married?"
在某個瞬間他們讓我想起了新婚夫婦，但從孩子的年齡來看他們顯然不是。我疑惑了一些時候，這才發現我已經深深地沉醉在這一臂之外，他們展示著的對彼此無條件的這份愛意中了。我覺得有些尷尬，好像自己入侵了某個神圣之地，但也意外地聽見我用緊張的聲音問道：“呀，你們結婚多長時間了？”
"Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those." he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. "Two whole days!"
“我們在一起十四年了，結婚十二年了。” 男人回答道，此時他的眼睛都沒有從愛妻身上挪開。“那么，您這是離開多久了？”我問。男人終于轉過頭來看著我，仍然帶著他那快樂的微笑：“整整兩天了！”
Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he'd been gone for at least several weeks—if not months. I know my expression betrayed me. I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!"
兩天？我有些震驚。從他見到家人的這份激動來判斷，我本猜著他離家沒有幾個月的話至少也是數周了。我知道我的表達出賣了我，當我還是迅速地，希望盡量帶著幾分優雅來結束對他們的打擾（順便繼續在人群中尋找我的朋友），我說：“我多希望我的婚姻也在十二年后保鮮如常啊！”
The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, "Don't hope, friend... decide!" Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!"
男人忽然收起了笑容，直直地看著我的眼睛，帶著一種力量仿佛要燃燒到我的靈魂深處，他告訴我的那番話從此以后改變了我：“不要總是希望，我的朋友，行動吧！”隨后，他又換上了他那迷人的微笑，握了握我的手：“那么，祝福你！”