
My parents went on to be married a total of thirty six years before my dad’s early death at the age of fifty three cut short their lives together. In the last sixteen years of my parent’s marriage, I and all those who knew my mom and dad, witnessed one of the truly “great” marriages. Their love grew stronger every day, and my heart swelled with pride as I saw them grow closer together.
父母親的婚姻維持了整整36年,直到父親在53歲時(shí)早逝,才結(jié)束了他們?cè)谝黄鸬臅r(shí)光。在父母親婚姻的最后16年里,所有認(rèn)識(shí)我父母親的人以及我,都見(jiàn)證了這段非常美滿的婚姻。他們的愛(ài)日漸牢固,而當(dāng)我看到他們?cè)絹?lái)越親密的時(shí)候,我的心里就會(huì)充滿自豪。
When Mom and Dad received the news from the doctor that his heart was deteriorating rapidly, they took it hand in hand, side by side, all the way.
當(dāng)父母親從醫(yī)生那里得知父親的心臟正在快速衰竭的時(shí)候,他們始終手牽手,肩并肩地一起面對(duì)疾病。
After Dad’s death, we had the most unpleasant task of going through his things. I have never liked this task and opted to 9)run errands so I did not have to be there while most of the things were divided and boxed up.
父親逝世后,我們開始整理他的遺物,這是最為難受的任務(wù)。我從來(lái)不喜歡做這活兒,而選擇了做跑腿,因此大部分遺物被分類和裝箱的時(shí)候,我都不必在場(chǎng)。
When I got back from my errand, my brother said, “Kristi, Mom said to give this to you. She said you would know what it meant.”
當(dāng)我辦完事回家的時(shí)候,我的哥哥說(shuō):“克莉絲汀,這是媽媽讓我給你的。她說(shuō)你會(huì)明白其中的含義。”
As I looked down into his outstretched hand, it was then that I knew the impact of my letter that day so long ago. In my brother’s hand was my picture that I had given my dad that day. My unsentimental dad, who never let his emotions get the best of him; my dad, who almost never outwardly showed his love for me, had kept the one thing that meant so much to him and me. I sat down and the tears began to flow, tears that I thought had dried up from the grief of his death but that had now found new life as I realized what I had meant to him. Mom told me that Dad kept both the picture and that letter his whole life. I have a box in my home that I call the “Dad box”. In it are so many things that remind me of my dad. I pull that picture out every once in a while and remember. I remember a promise that was made many years ago between a young man and his bride on their wedding day, and I remember the unspoken promise that was made between a father and his daughter.
我低頭看他伸出的手,那時(shí)我才明白到我那封信在多年前那天所產(chǎn)生的影響。我哥哥手中拿的是那天我給父親的那張照片。我那不善表露感情的父親,從來(lái)不讓內(nèi)心的情緒左右自己;我的父親,幾乎從來(lái)沒(méi)有大方地表達(dá)對(duì)我的愛(ài),卻一直保存著這張對(duì)他和我都極為重要的照片。我坐下來(lái),眼淚開始滴落,我曾以為我的眼淚在他去世的時(shí)候就流干了,而現(xiàn)在當(dāng)我意識(shí)到我對(duì)他是多么重要的時(shí)候,眼淚又開始“復(fù)蘇”。母親告訴我說(shuō),父親始終珍藏著這張照片和那封信。我家里有一個(gè)我稱之為“爸爸盒子”的盒子。里面放了許多可以讓我回憶起父親的東西。我不時(shí)從這個(gè)盒子里拿出這張照片,回憶往日。我記得許多年前一名年輕男子與他的新娘在結(jié)婚那天許下的誓言,我記得一個(gè)父親和他女兒之間無(wú)言的承諾。
A promise kept.
一個(gè)恪守一生的承諾。