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But as her space and mobility dwindled, so did her control over her life.
但是隨著她生活空間的縮小和行動能力的下降，她控制生活的能力也下降了。
I looked at my grandmother again, sitting so alone before me, hair totally gray, limbs and joints swollen by arthritis, at the hearing aid that could no longer help her hear, and the glasses too thick but so inadequate in helping to see... and yet there was such dignity about her. A dignity I could not understand.
我再一次注視著孤獨地坐在我面前的祖母，頭發已經完全花白了，由于關節炎，她的四肢和關節也變得腫脹，助聽器也已對她沒什么作用了，鏡片盡管已經足夠厚，但她仍無法看清東西……然而在她身上仍有一種尊嚴，一種我無法理解的尊嚴。
The next day, after my grandmother had been taken back to the nursing home and my mother was picking up in her room, she found a small scrap of paper my grandmother had scribbled these words on:
第二天，祖母被送回療養院后，母親在整理房間時，發現了祖母隨筆寫的一張小紙片：
It is 1:30 tonight and I had to get up and go to the bathroom. I cannot go back to sleep. But I looked in on Margaret and she is sleeping so good, and Patsy is sleeping too.
“現在是晚上一點半了，我得起床上廁所，我無法再入睡，我看了一下瑪格麗特，她睡得很香，帕齊也在熟睡著?！?/div>
With that note, I finally understood, and my 89-year-old bag-lady grandmother changed from an almost helpless invalid to a courageous, caring individual still very much in control of her environment.
看著這張紙片，我終于明白了，我那89歲的祖母，一位“提包女士”，由一個無助的病弱者變成了一位勇敢的、關愛別人的人，她仍然可以很好地把控自己所處的環境。
What intense loneliness she must have felt as she scribbled that small note on that small piece of paper with the small bag on her walker and her small purse next to her. Yet she chose to experience it alone rather than wake either of us from much-needed sleep. Out of her own great need, she chose to meet our needs.
當她在那張小紙片上寫下這些話時，助步車上掛著她的提包，身邊放著她的小提袋，那時的她該是多么孤獨啊丨但她仍選擇了獨自承受，而不是把我們中的任何一個從熟睡中叫醒。祖母舍棄自己的需求，她選擇滿足我們的需求。
As I held that tiny note, and cried inside, I wondered if she dreamed of younger years and more treasured possessions and a bigger world when she went back to sleep that night. I certainly hoped so.
我握著這張小紙片，悲由心生。我不知道那晚祖母隨后入睡時，是否會夢到自己的年輕時代，或者夢到自己擁有更多的財富，夢到一個更廣闊的世界，我真心希望她夢到了。
