A father's love



 父爱

Daddy just didn’t know how to show love. It was Mom who held the family together. He just went to work every day and came home; she’d have a list of sins we’d committed and he’d scold us about them.

爸爸根本不知道怎样表达爱。把这个家维系在一起的人是妈妈。爸爸天天去上班，回家，然后是妈妈向他数落我们所做的一连串错事，爸爸再为了这些事把我们骂一顿。

Once when I stole a candy bar, he made me take it back and tell the man I stole it and that I’d pay for it. But it was Mom who understood I was just a kid.

有一次我偷了一根棒棒糖。爸爸硬是要我送回去，还要我告诉卖糖的人是我偷了糖，并说我愿意帮他拆箱开包作为赔偿。但妈妈却理解我，她知道我只不过是个孩子。

I broke my leg once on the playground swing and it was Mom who held me in her arms all the way to the hospital. Dad pulled the car right up to the door of the emergency room and when they asked him to move it saying the space was reserved for emergency vehicles, He shouted, “What do you think this is? A tour bus?”

再有一次，我在操场荡秋千摔坏了腿，一路抱着我到医院的人是妈妈。爸爸将车正好停在急诊室门口。因为那儿是专供急救车停靠的，医院里的人就叫我爸爸把车开走。爸爸大声吼叫起来：“你以为这是什么车？难道是旅游车吗？”

At my birthday parties, Dad always seemed sort of out of place, He just busied himself blowing up balloons, setting up tables, and running errands, it was Mom who carried the cake with the candles on it for me to blow out.

在我的生日聚会上，爸爸总显得有点不得其所。他不是忙于吹气球，就是摆桌子，或做些跑腿的活儿。将插着蜡烛的生日蛋糕捧进来让我吹灭的人总是妈妈。

When I leaf through picture albums, people always ask, “What does your Dad took like?” “Who knows? He was always fiddling around with the camera taking everyone else’s picture. I must have a zillion pictures of Mom and me smiling together.”

我随便翻阅相册时，别人总会问“你爸爸长什么模样？”这还真说不出。他总是摆弄着相机为别人拍照。我和妈妈在一起微笑的照片一定多得都数不清了。

I remember when Mom told him to teach me how to ride a bicycle. I told him not to let it go, but he said it was time. I fell and Mom ran to pick me up, but he waved her off. I was so mad I showed him,I got right back on that bike and rode it myself. He didn’t even feel embarrassed and just smiled.

我还记得有一次妈妈叫爸爸教我骑自行车。我叫他扶着车子别松手，他却说是时候了。我摔了下来，妈妈跑来扶我，他却挥手让妈妈开走。我真是气得发疯，决心非要让他看看我的本事不可。我马上骑上车，竟能一个人骑了。爸爸却一点也不尴尬，只是笑笑。

When I went to college, Mom did all the writing. He just sent checks and a little note about how great his lawn looked now that I wasn’t playing football on it.

我上大学了，给我的信总是妈妈写的。爸爸只知道寄钱，顶多附上一张便条，告诉我他的草坪现在修整得多么好，而如今我却不能在上面踢球。

Whenever I called home, he acted like he wanted to talk, but he always said, “I’ll get your mother.”When I got married, it was Mom who cried. He just blew his nose loudly and left the room. All my life he said, “Where are you going? What time are you coming home? No, you cannot go.”

每次我打电话回家，爸爸总像是有话要说，但结果他总是说“我把你妈叫来接”。我结婚的时候，妈妈哭了，爸爸只是大声打着鼻响，离走出了房间。在我一生中，他总是说：“你去哪儿？你什么时候回家？不，你不能去。”

Daddy just didn’t know how to show love, unless…

爸爸就是不知道怎样表达爱，只会这样……

Is it possible he showed it and didn’t recognize it ?

爸爸向我们表达了爱，难道他只是没有意识到吗？

The Key of a Car

一把车钥匙

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

从前，有位年轻人即将大学生毕业。数月来，他一直渴望得到某汽车商产品陈列室中的一辆跑车。他知道，他那富有的父亲肯定买得起这辆车，于是，他便跟父亲说他很想得到那辆漂亮的跑车。

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curiously, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" Then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

在毕业典礼即将来临的日子里，年轻人等待着父亲买下跑车的消息。终于，在毕业典礼那天上午，父亲将他叫到自己的书房，并告诉他，有他这么出色的儿子自己感到非常自豪而且非常爱他这个儿子。接着，父亲递给儿子一个包装精美的礼品盒。年轻人感到好奇，但带着些许失望地打开礼品盒，却发现里面是一本精美的精装本《圣经》，上面以金子凸印着年轻人的名字。看罢，年轻人怒气冲冲地向父亲大喊道：“你有那么多钱，却只给我一本《圣经》？”说完，便丢下《圣经》，愤怒地冲出房子。

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

多年以后，年轻人已事业有成。他拥有一所漂亮的房子，一个温馨的家庭。但当得知父亲年事已高，他想，或许应该去看看他。自从毕业那天起他就一直不见父亲。就在起程时，他收到一封电报－－父亲已逝世，并已立下遗嘱将其所有财产转给儿子。他要立即回父亲家处理后事。

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL".

在父亲的房子里，他突然内心感到一阵悲伤与懊悔。他开始仔细搜寻父亲的重要文件，突然发现了那本《圣经》－－还跟几年前一样崭新。他噙着泪水打开《圣经》并一页一页地阅读着。忽然，从书的背面掉出一把钥匙。钥匙上挂着一个标签，上面写着一个汽车经销商的名字－－正是他曾渴望的那辆跑车的经销商。标签上还有他的毕业日期及“款已付清”的字样。

How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

我们多少次地与祝福擦肩而过，仅仅因为他们没有按我们想象中的样子包装好？我相信你也有这样的经历。不要在渴望得到没有的东西时损坏你已经拥有的东西，但要记住一点：你现在所拥有的恰恰正是你曾经一心渴望得到的。

Sometimes we don't realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened.

有时，我们并没有意识到我们已经拥有或本该拥有的好运，仅仅因为它的外表与我们想象中的有所不同。其实，表面上看起来像是坏运气的东西或许正是等待开启的幸运之门.