本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2014-9-21 09:20 编辑
奶奶的存钱罐 荷叶/译 八岁那年，我们从开罗搬到了伊利诺斯的佛衣山，从此远离了祖母。我非常想念她。她说我是她最疼爱的孙女。她是我最喜爱的奶奶，她是父亲的母亲。 两年后，父母分居，不久后就离了婚。我感觉我的世界坍塌了。我的心空落落的，很痛。妈妈一定感觉到了我的愿望，因为即使离婚后，她也偶尔带我和小弟弟回去看望奶奶。 我知道奶奶一直在爱着我们。哪怕你的世界被颠覆，这种爱也可以用心来感知到。 她的房子并不豪华，东西也不昂贵，但我不在乎这些。我只知道她爱我，我也爱她。 二战时期，父亲不在家住。有一段时间，我们住在爷爷奶奶隔壁的一个复式楼房里。 奶奶从来没有过很多钱，也没有过多的物质上的东西。但有一些小事让我念念不忘。她的桌子上总是放着个糖碗，她让我用手指醮着吃，她让我喝她杯子里的咖啡。享受这些特权时，她允许我坐在厨房的桌子上。 奶奶不厌其烦地向我解释她挂在墙上的风向标有什么作用，它可以预测未来的天气。那个木制的小男孩小女孩怎么知道什么时候下雨，他们怎么知道从哪个门里走出来，这一直令我琢磨不透。但奶奶明白。 她还有个醋瓶，放在高高的架子上，它在我眼里很漂亮。我问将来可不可以送给我。参加完奶奶的葬礼，这个醋瓶被装在盒子里送给了我。奶奶记得，爱就是这样。 在开罗的复式小楼里，和爷爷奶奶住隔壁时，我常常花很多时间和奶奶在一起。但时过境迁，爷爷去世了，我们搬到了百里以外。爸爸是奶奶的小儿子，他也不和我们住在一起了。我和爸爸见面不多，也不知奶奶是否可以常常见到他。但他是奶奶的儿子，我知道奶奶爱他。爱就是那样，可以超越痛苦。 虽然奶奶并不富有，我们也一样，但她为我和弟弟汤米做的一件事，却令我终生难忘。她把零钱存放在一个玻璃罐里。我知道奶奶本可以花掉那些零钱的，但她存下来，等到我和弟弟来看望她时，送给我们。因为我是老大，我来负责把这些零钱在我和弟弟之间平分。 “你一便士，我一便士，”我不停地重复着，直到罐子被掏空为止。 我不记得从奶奶那儿拿过多少钱，其实数字并不重要。重要的是我们知道，当我们离开奶奶时，她还记得我们，还在惦记着我们。 那些儿时的记忆，仍然能够在需要时，给我一种暖融融的感觉。一份祖母的爱，可以存留在孙女心间，经年累月，直到她自己也成为奶奶的时候。有了那些年的经历，每当我幸运地发现地面上某一地方有一便士零钱时，我就会想，这会不会是奶奶从天堂给我撒钱呢。 附：原文 We had moved from Cairo to Mt. Vernon, Illinois,away from my grandmother when I was eight years old. I missed her terribly. Iwas told I was her favorite grandchild; she was my favorite "Granny."She was my Father's mother. Two years later my mother and father separated and they were soon divorced. I felt as if my world was falling apart. My heart ached for that partof me that was slipping away. Mother must have sensed my longing, for she would take my little brother and me back to visit my Granny on occasions, even after the divorce. I was always aware Granny loved us. It was something you could feel withyour heart, even when your world was turned upside down. She didn't live in a fancy house or have expensive things, but I never noticed; I just knew she loved me and I loved her back. We had lived, for a time, next door to her and grandpa in a duplex while my father was away during World War II. Granny had never had very much in the way of money or material things. But it was the little things she gave me that had always mattered. Things like letting me dip my fingers in the sugar bowl, which was always sitting on her table orthe coffee she let me sip from her cup. She allowed me to sit on top of her kitchen table as I partook of those privileges. Granny took the time to explain the function of her weather vane, hanging on the wall, which predicted the upcoming weather. How that little wooden boy and girl knew what door to come out of, when it was going to rain, amazed me.But Granny understood. She also had a vinegar cruet that sat high on a shelf that was beautiful,in my eyes; I asked if I could have it someday. It was given to me in a box after her funeral. She remembered; love is like that. I used to spend a lot of time with Granny when we lived in Cairo, next door to her and grandpa, in the duplex. But times and things had changed. Grandpa had died;we lived a hundred miles away, and dad, her youngest son, my daddy, no longer lived with us. I didn't get to see dad much, and I don't know if Granny got tosee him very often either. But, he was her son, and I knew she loved him. Love is like that; it can see past the pain. Though she didn't have much, neither did we, but she did something for my brother, Tommie and me. I will always remember; she saved her pennies in a glass jar. I am sure Granny could have used those pennies herself but she saved them to give us when we came to visit. Because I was the oldest I was in charge of dividing the pennies equally between my brother and me. "One for you, one for me," I would repeat until the jar was empty. I don't remember how much we collected on our visits, nor was the amount important. It was the idea that she remembered us, and cared about us, when we were away from her. Those memories, of when I was a child, still give me warm fuzzy feelings on days that I need them. A Granny's love stays with a grandchild, down through the years,even when that child becomes a grandma herself. I often wonder, after all those years, when I am lucky enough to find a penny lying on the ground somewhere, ifit could possible be Granny tossing me pennies from heaven. | 
发表于 2014-9-20 17:43:51
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