06 Oh, to Be Rich with Mom's Cake!
妈妈的蛋糕
(By Sande Smith)
I lay on my bed, legs propped up against the wall, desperately wishing my mother would call. But I remembered the last time I'd seen her, right before the train for Providence pulled out of the station, "You know how expensive it is to call," she said, then squeezed me tight and said good- bye.
我躺在床上，双腿靠在墙上，拼命希望妈妈会打电话来。但我想起了我上一次见她时——就在开往普罗维登斯的火车即将驶出车站时——她对我说：“你知道打电话有多贵。”然后紧紧地抱了抱我就道别离开了。
This was my first birthday away from home. I missed my mom, missed my sister, and most certainly missed the special pound cake my mother always made for my birthday. Since getting to college that year, I would watch jealously as the other freshmen received care packages from their parents on their birthdays -and even on ordinary days. Big boxes containing summer slacks and blouses, packages of M&M's and Snickers , things they needed and things they didn't. Instead of feeling thrilled about my upcoming eighteenth birthday, I felt empty. I wished my mom would send me something, too, but I knew that she couldn't afford presents or the postage. She had done her best with my sister and me -raising us by herself. The simple truth was there just was never enough money.
这是我离开家过的第一个生日，我想念妈妈，想念妹妹，当然，我最想念的还是我过生日时，妈妈总会为我做的那个特别的重糖重油蛋糕。自从那年上大学后，我总会妒忌地注视着其他新生在过生日的时候，甚至是平常的日子里，收到他们的父母寄来的爱心包裹。一大盒一大盒的夏季长裤和休闲衫，一包包的M&M's巧克力豆和士力架——他们需要的和不需要的东西。对于即将到来的18岁生日，我不但没有感到兴奋，反而觉得空虚。我希望妈妈也会寄些东西给我，但我知道她买不起礼物，也付不起邮资。她独自抚养我和妹妹已经尽了全力了。事实很简单：我们的钱永远不够花。
But that didn't stop her from filling us with dreams. "You can be anything you want to be," she would tell us. "Politicians, dancers, writers - you just have to work for it; you have to get an education."
但那并没有阻止她给我们灌输梦想。“你们想成为什么样的人就能成为什么样的人，”她会这样告诉我们，“政治家、舞蹈家、作家——你们只需要为之努力奋斗，你们必须受教育。”
For a long time, because of my mother's resourcefulness , I didn't realize that we were poor. She did so much with so little. She owned and took care of our house. She clothed and fed us. She found ways to get us scholarships so that we could take violin, piano and viola lessons from some of the best teachers in Philadelphia. She never missed an opportunity to have a tête-à-tête with our schoolteachers, and she attended all our plays and musical performances. My mother had high hopes for my sister and me. She saw the way out of poverty for us was education. We didn't play with the other children on the street, didn't jump double-dutch or stay out late on the porch laughing and talking with our neighbors. We were inside doing our homework and reading books. She sat with us while we did our work and taught us how to learn what she didn't know by plowing through the World Book Encyclopedia or visiting the library.
很长一段时间，因为母亲的足智多谋，我并没有意识到我们的贫穷。她用那么少的钱却做了那么多的事。她买下并打理着我们的房子。她让我们有衣穿，有饭吃。她想办法让我们拿到奖学金，好让我们去上费城一些最好的老师教授的小提琴、钢琴和中提琴课。她从来不会错过和我们的老师私下交流的机会。她观看我们所有的比赛和音乐演奏会。妈妈对我和妹妹寄予了厚望。她明白只有教育才能让我们摆脱贫穷。我们不和其他孩子一起在街上玩耍，不跳交叉绳，也不在屋外的门廊上和邻居们说笑到很晚。我们都待在家里做作业、看书。我们做作业的时候，妈妈就坐在一旁，教我们如何通过查阅《世界百科全书》或者去图书馆学习她不懂的内容。
She did it all on 800 dollars a month and what a struggle it was for her.
她每个月只用800美元就做成了所有这些事。对她来说，这多么不容易啊！
Please, Mom, can we go to the movies? We'd beg.
“求你了，妈妈，我们可以去看电影吗？”我们会这样恳求。
No, we can watch a movie at home, she'd say, turning to the movie channel.
“不行。我们可以在家看电影。”她会这样回答，同时把电视调到电影频道。
Can't we get nicer pants than these ugly green things? We'd say as we went through the black plastic bag filled with hand-me-downs from our cousins.
我们翻着黑塑料袋里亲戚们穿过的那些旧衣服时，会说：“这些绿裤子太难看了，难道我们就不能穿比这好看一点的裤子吗？”
These will do you fine for now, Mom would say.
“这些衣服你们现在穿正合适。”妈妈会这样说。
Why can't I have money to buy French fries after school? I would plead, my nostrils full with the remembered smell of sizzling grease and freshly salted potatoes.
“为什么不能给我点儿钱，让我放学后买薯条吃呢？”我会这么恳求，鼻子里满是记忆中咝咝作响的热油和新炸出来的加盐薯条的香味。
No, you don't need that mess. Besides, I've made pea soup with carrots and potatoes.
“不，你不需要吃那些乱七八糟的东西。而且，我已经做了加胡萝卜和土豆的豌豆汤给你喝。”
She never bought anything that she could make herself.
凡是她能自己动手做的东西，她从来不会花钱去买。
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生39：Life Is All
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生40：The Old Fish
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生41：A Moment of
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生42：A Perfect He
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生43：Cherish as G
感谢您的支持，我会继续努力完善网站!
打开支付宝扫一扫，即可进行扫码打赏哦
猜你喜欢
精彩导读
热门资讯
关注我们
