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I grew up in a small town where the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age ,
我是在一個小鎮上長大的，從鎮上的小學校到我家，只需步行10分鐘。
not so long ago , when children could go home for lunch and find their mothers waiting.
離當前不算太太久遠的那個時代 ，小學生可以回家吃午飯，而他們的母親，則會老早在家等候著。
At the time, I did not consider this a luxury, although today it certainly would be.
這一切對如今的孩子來說，無疑是一種奢望，可是那時的我卻不以為然。
I took it for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers, the finger-painting appreciators and the homework monitors.
我覺得做母親的給她的孩子制作三明治，鑒賞指畫，檢查他們的家庭作業，都是理所當然的事。
I never questioned that this ambitious, intelligent woman, who had had a career before I was born and would eventually return to a career, would spend almost every lunch hour throughout my elementary school years just with me.
我從來沒有想過：像我母親這樣一個頗有抱負又很聰明的女人，在我降生之前，她有一份工作，而且后來她又謀了份差事，可是，在我上小學那幾年，她卻幾乎天天陪著我吃午飯，一同打發午餐時的每一分鐘。
I only knew that when the noon bell rang,I would race breathlessly home. My mother would be standing at the top of the stairs, smiling down at me with a look that suggested I was the only important thing she had on her mind.
只記得，每當午時鈴聲一響，我就一口氣地往家里跑。母親總是站在門前臺階的最高層，笑盈盈地望著我--那神情分明表示：我便是母親心目中唯一最重要的東西了。
For this, I am forever grateful.
為此，我一輩子都要感謝我的母親。
Some sounds bring it all back: the highpitched squeal of my mother's teakettle, the rumble of the washing machine in the basement and the jangle of my dog's license tags as she bounded down the stairs to greet me.
如今，每當我聽到一些聲音，像母親那把茶壺水開時發出的尖叫聲，地下室洗衣機的隆隆聲，還有， 我那條狗蹦下臺階沖我搖頭擺尾時它脖子上那牌照發出的撞擊聲，便會勾起我對往事的回憶。
Our time together seemed devoid of the gerrymandered schedules that now pervade my life.
和母親在一起的歲月，全然沒有充斥于我的生活中的、事先排定的虛情假意的日程表。
One lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always.
我永遠忘不了在我上三年級時的那一頓午飯。
I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly rehearsed my lines with me.
在那天之前，我被學校選中，要在一個即將演出的小劇中扮演公主的角色。一連好幾個禮拜，母親總是不辭辛勞地陪著我，一起背誦臺詞。
But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head.
可是，不管在家里怎么背得滾瓜爛熟，只要一上舞臺，我的腦子里就成了一片空白。
Finally, my teacher took me aside.
終于，老師把我叫到了一邊。
She explained that she had written a narrator's part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.
她說劇中旁白這個角色的臺詞已寫好了，想把我替換下來當旁白。
Her word, kindly delivered, still stung, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
盡管老師這些話說得和和氣氣，可還是刺痛了我的心，特別是當我發覺自己扮演的公主角色讓另外一個女孩頂替時，更是如此。
I didn't tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day.
那天回家吃午飯時我沒有把這事告訴母親。
But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked If I wanted to walk in the yard.
然而，母親見我心神不定，因此沒有再提練習背臺詞的事兒，而是問我愿意不愿意到院子里散散步。
