這就是奶奶的風格

My dear grandmother

我親愛的曾祖母

passed away almost 18 years ago

去世已經(jīng)約莫18年了

but I still miss her

但我仍然想念她

every single day.

每一天都如此

She was such an important part of my life.

她在我的生活中占據(jù)著十分重要的地位

My Mom, Dad, brothers and I

我和哥哥們，爸爸媽媽

lived in her old house

一直住在她的老房子里

for most of my childhood.

幾乎貫穿我整個童年

And when I close my eyes

每當我閉上眼睛

and open my heart

敞開心扉

that is how I remember her.

就會記起她

I can still see her

她似乎仍在我眼前

in her flower print, cotton dress

穿著印花的棉質連衣裙

with a flour dusted apron tied over it.

外面系著一條沾滿面粉的圍裙

I can see

我仍能看到

her smiling face

她微笑的臉龐

with her wispy hair all askew

一綹綹頭發(fā)無不凌亂

and her big glasses sliding down her nose.

一副大眼鏡從鼻梁上滑下來

I can hear

我還能聽到

her high pitched voice say,

她尖著嗓子叫

"HELLO"

“你好呀”

as I opened the door after school

當我放學回家，打開門的時候

while her arms opened

那時，她張開雙臂

to give me a big hug and kiss.

給我一個大大的擁抱，一個甜甜的吻

I can even remember

我還能記得

how she smelled.

她身上的氣息

It was a curious combination

那是許多氣味的混合，十分有意思

of cold cream, Ben Gay,

里面有雪花膏的味道，藥膏的味道

garlic, and tomato sauce.

大蒜的味道，還有番茄醬的味道

And when she hugged me

當她擁抱我的時候

I could feel the love and joy

我能感受到她的愛和愉悅

coming from her heart into mine.

從她的心傳遞到我的心

I thought I knew everything about my "Nana"

我以為自己知道關于外婆的一切

but amazingly

然而，令我驚嘆的是

I am still learning more about her

我還能不停的得知新的關于她的事情

even today.

甚至就在今天也是如此

Just yesterday

就在昨天

an old family friend

我們家的一個老朋友

stopped to talk to me at the local post office.

看到我在郵局里，特意停腳來跟我打招呼

She told me

她告訴我

of what happened once while she visited my Nana

從前有一次她去拜訪我奶奶的時候發(fā)生的事情

when I was still a little boy.

那時我還是個小男孩

They were sitting around the dining room table

她們圍坐在餐廳桌旁 talking相談甚歡

and our friend noticed the lovely earrings

這位朋友注意到了一對可愛的耳環(huán)

my Nana was wearing.

帶在奶奶的耳朵上

She told Nana

她告訴奶奶

about how much she liked them

自己多么喜歡這對耳環(huán)

and asked

并且問

if possibly

如果可能的話

she could leave them to her in her will.

對方是否愿意在遺囑里寫上，把它們轉贈給她

Without a second thought

沒有半刻的遲疑

my sweet Nana took them off

我善良的奶奶摘下耳環(huán)

and gave them to her on the spot.

當場就將它們交給了她

After our friend left

這位朋友離開之后

I stood there

我站在原地

for a few minutes

好幾分鐘

in amazement.

仍然震驚不已

I had never known this

我從未聽說過這件事

and as far as I could tell

而且就我所知

Nana never mentioned it to anyone.

奶奶從未對任何人說起這件事

That was just like her.

這就是奶奶的風格

She may have been feisty and temperamental

或許她曾經(jīng)有些強勢，有些容易激動

at times

但那只是偶爾

but

然而

she loved deeply

她卻愛得深沉

and she gave freely.

并且慷慨的傾其所有

I have decided then

那時我便決定

that I want to love like Nana loved.

我想要像奶奶愛別人那樣去愛

I want to give like Nana gave.

我想要像奶奶付出那樣傾我所有

I want to live like Nana lived.

我想要像奶奶過去那樣去生活

I want to care more about people

我想要更多的關心他人

and less about things.

更少的關心物質

I want to let my heart

我想要讓自己的心

rather than my fear guide me.

而不是我的恐懼引領我

I want to share my love

我想要傳播自己的愛

freely and joyfully.

自由而歡喜的

I want to give

我想要付出

and to live

想要生活

in such a way that sings and smiles.

想要生活中有歌聲與微笑

May you do the same.

希望你亦能如此