
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歲時早逝,才結束了他們在一起的時光。在父母親婚姻的最后16年里,所有認識我父母親的人以及我,都見證了這段非常美滿的婚姻。他們的愛日漸牢固,而當我看到他們越來越親密的時候,我的心里就會充滿自豪。
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.
當父母親從醫生那里得知父親的心臟正在快速衰竭的時候,他們始終手牽手,肩并肩地一起面對疾病。
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。我從來不喜歡做這活兒,而選擇了做跑腿,因此大部分遺物被分類和裝箱的時候,我都不必在場。
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.”
當我辦完事回家的時候,我的哥哥說:“克莉絲汀,這是媽媽讓我給你的。她說你會明白其中的含義。”
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,那時我才明白到我那封信在多年前那天所產生的影響。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,從來不讓內心的情緒左右自己;我的父親,幾乎從來沒有大方地表達對我的愛,卻一直保存著這張對他和我都極為重要的照片。我坐下來,眼淚開始滴落,我曾以為我的眼淚在他去世的時候就流干了,而現在當我意識到我對他是多么重要的時候,眼淚又開始“復蘇”。母親告訴我說,父親始終珍藏著這張照片和那封信。我家里有一個我稱之為“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。我不時從這個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婚那天許下的誓言,我記得一個父親和他女兒之間無言的承諾。
A promise kept.
一個恪守一生的承諾。