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When I was having a chit-chat with my colleague, she asked me all of a sudden, “How did your husband propose to you at that time? Was it romantic?” I was numbed by her words for a while, and then burst into laughter, “My husband is a bit rigid, so do you think his proposal would be romantic?” Though I said in that way, I felt very sweet in heart when thinking of my husband’s proposing to me. To be honest, his proposal was actually by no means romantic without flowers, diamond ring and any other surprise. It was even could not be called “marriage proposal”.
當我正和同事閑聊的時候，她突然問我，“那時候你丈夫是怎么向你求婚的？浪漫嗎？”我被她問愣了一會兒，然后爆出大笑，“我丈夫有點兒死板，你想他的求婚會浪漫嗎？”話雖如此，但想起我丈夫向我求婚的情形，我心里還是感到非常甜蜜。說實話，他的求婚其實一點兒都不浪漫，沒有鮮花、鉆戒或者其它任何驚喜。那甚至都不能稱之為“求婚”。
At that time, he gave me a book about Ireland, which, now I am thinking was a long-established plan. At the weekend when I finished the book, he came to me and asked me whether I had finished the book. Seeing me nod my head, he felt very pleased and said to me in a low but happy voice, “If you like, we can get married in an Irish way!”
那時候，他給了我一本關于愛爾蘭的書，現在想起來，他其實蓄謀已久。當我周末看完這本書，他過來問我是否已經讀完。看到我點頭，他非常高興，然后以低沉而快樂的聲音對我說，“如果你愿意，我們可以象愛爾蘭人那樣結婚！”
At that time, my heart was totally convinced by the romantic and sacred law of marriage in Ireland. The book told me that Ireland believes in Catholicism and prohibited divorce. Therefore, when a couple get married, they are supposed to choose the time of their marriage which ranges from 1 year to 100 years. The most impressive of this law of marriage lies in the inverse relationship between the time of marriage and the fees to be charged. If you choose 1 year for your marriage, you shall pay as much as 2, 000 sterling pounds plus receiving a dictionary-thick reference of rights and responsibilities. But if you choose 100 years, then you are very lucky and only need to pay 0.5 pound for the fees and receive a short but heart-touching note in all women’s eyes: “I have no idea the clear rights and responsibilities for my left hand to my right hand, my right leg to my left leg, my left eye to my right eye and my right sphere of brain to the left. Actually, they are an integrated whole and live by each other and cheer for each other. Finally, I would like this pink note to convey my best wishes to your one-hundred-year marriage! May you live happily all your lives!”
當時，我的心完全被愛爾蘭婚姻的浪漫和神法捕獲。書里說，愛爾蘭人信仰天主教，禁止離婚。因此，當一對戀人結婚時，他們將會從一到一百年之間選擇他們的婚齡。這個婚姻法最令人印象深刻的在于婚齡的選擇和相應所付費用的反比關系。如果你選擇一年婚齡，你需要付差不多兩千英鎊，外加接受一本厚如字典的關于權利和責任的參考資料。但是如果你選擇一百年婚齡，那你就非常幸運，只需要付半個英鎊， 接受一張簡短但讓任何女人都深受感動的紙條；“我不知道我的左手對右手，我的右腿對左腿，我的左眼對右眼，以及我的右腦對左腦應該享受怎樣的權利，承擔怎樣的責任。事實上，它們是一個整體，相互依賴相互扶持。最后，我希望這張粉色紙條能向你們的百年婚姻傳達我所有美好的祝福！祝你們終生幸福！”
I still remember at that time that I said to my husband, “Ok, so sir, please choose the time you expect our marriage to last!” He said happily, “I even do not bother to think about it and would definitely choose 100 years because it is highly money-saving!”
我依然記得當時我對丈夫說，“那么好吧，先生，請選擇你所期待的婚姻期限！”他愉快地說，“我根本不需要去想，肯定是一百年，因為它最省錢了！”
Later, I married him, a man who would like to stay with me for 100 years. Although we are not bound by the law of marriage in Ireland, we have cherished our vow to discipline ourselves all the time. We have married like Irish people and look on our marriage as a life-long commitment and spare no effort to nourish it hand in hand as we are gradually aging together.
后來，我嫁給了他，這個愿意和我相伴百年的男人。雖然我們不至于被愛爾蘭的婚姻法約束，但我們仍然珍視這段讓我們始終自律的誓言。我們象愛爾蘭人一樣結婚，把我們的婚姻視作終生的承諾，不遺余力地精心呵護并攜手共老。
I also sincerely hope that every pair of lovers in the world can get married like Irish people and love and protect each other whole-heartedly by committing themselves to a 100-year marriage.
我也衷心希望世上每一對有情人能象愛爾蘭人那樣終成眷屬，全心全意彼此愛護，共赴百年之約。
