爱是活跃于人心中的力量
Love Is The Strength Which Act In Our Hearts

On Christmas Day, all the joys of close family relationships were seen and felt through out our parents ’ home. The smells of roasted turkey, southern baked ham and homemade bread hung in the air. Tables and chairs were set up everywhere to accommodate toddlers, teenagers, parents and grandparents. Every room was lavishly decorated. No family member had ever missed Christmas Day with our mother and father.

Only this year, things were different. Our father had passed away November 26, and this was our first Christmas without him. Mother was doing her best to be the gracious hostess, but I could tell this was especially hard for her. I felt a catch in my throat, and again I wondered if I should give her my planned Christmas gift, or if it had become inappropriate in my father ’ s absence.

Afew months earlier I had been putting the finishing touches on portraits I had painted of each of my parents. I ’ d planned to give them as Christmas gifts. This would be a surprise for everyone, as I had not studied art or tried serious painting. There was an undeniable urge within that pushed me relentlessly to do this. The portraits did look like them, but I was still unsure of my painting techniques.

While painting one day, I was surprised by a doorbell ring. Quickly putting all my painting materials out of sight, I opened the door. To my astonishment, my father ambled in alone never before having visited me without my mother. Grinning, he said,“ I’ve missed our early morning talks. You know the ones we had before you decided to leave me for an-other man! ” I hadn ’ t been married long. Also, I was the only girl and the baby of the family.

Immediately I wanted to show him the paintings, but I was reluctant to ruin his Christmas surprise. Yet something urged me to share this moment with him. After swearing him to secrecy, I insisted he keep his eyes closed until I had the portraits set on easels. “ Okay, Daddy. Now you can look! ”

每年的圣诞节，父母的家中满溢着一大家子的欢乐之情。烤火鸡、南部烘火腿和晾挂的家制面包喷香四溢。桌椅被孩子、年轻人、父母和祖父母们四处安置。每个房间都装饰得异常华丽。家中无人不怀念与父母共度的圣诞节。

唯独今年有所不同。我们的父亲在11月26日过世了，这是我们第一次没有与他共度圣诞节。母亲竭力扮演亲切的女主人，可我看得出这对她尤其困难。我感到喉咙被堵住了，我再一次考虑该不该把我原来准备好的圣诞礼物送给她，也许在没有父亲的情况下这么做并不是很恰当。

数月前，我给双亲各自画了一幅肖像，并给它们润好色，打算作为圣诞礼物送给他们。每个人都将会大吃一惊，因为我没有学过美术，也没有认真地学过画。是内心一股无法遏制的冲动让我不停地去画。肖像里的父母惟妙惟肖，但我依然对自己的画技没有把握。

有一天，当我正在作画的时候，突然响起的门铃声把我吓了一跳。我迅速将画画的材料收藏妥当，开了门。令我大为吃惊的是，父亲一个人慢慢地走了进来—以前没有妈妈陪同他从没登门拜访过。他笑着说：“我真怀念我们以前在清晨的谈话。你知道，是在你决定离开我到另一个男人身边之前!”我才新婚不久，而且我是家中唯一的女孩。

我很想让他看看肖像，却又不愿破坏他的圣诞惊喜。但有股力量促使我要和他共享此刻。他发誓会保密后，我坚持让他先闭上眼睛，然后把肖像摆到画架上。“好了，爸爸。现在你可以看了! ”

He appeared dazed but said nothing. Getting up, he walked closer to inspect them. Then he withdrew to eye them at a distance. I tried to control my stomach flip flops. Finally, with a tear escaping down one cheek, he mumbled, “ I don ’ t believe it. The eyes are so real that they follow you everywhere and look how beautiful your mother is. Will you let me have them framed? ”

Thrilled with his response, I happily volunteered to drop them off the next day at the frame shop.

Several weeks passed. Then one night in November the phone rang, and a cold chill numbed my body. I picked up the receiver to hear my husband, a doctor, say, “ I ’ m in the emergency room. Your father has had a stroke. It ’ s bad, but he is still alive. ”

Daddy lingered in a coma for several days. I went to see him in the hospital the day before he died. I slipped my hand in his and asked, “ Do you know who I am, Daddy? ” He surprised everyone when he whispered, “ You ’ re my darling daughter. ” He died the next day, and it seemed all joy was drained from the lives of my mother and me.

I finally remembered to call about the portrait framing and thanked God my father had gotten a chance to see the pictures before he died. I was surprised when the shopkeeper told me my father had visited the shop, paid for the framing and had them gift wrapped. In all our grief, I had no longer planned to give the portraits to my mother.

他目瞪口呆，什么话也说不出来。缓过来后，他走近一些仔细端详，接着后退一些从远处凝望。我尽量控制着急促的心跳。父亲的眼泪滴在脸颊上，他终于喃喃地说道：“真是难以置信!这双眼睛是那么的栩栩如生，无论你走到哪儿它们都追随着你—看你妈妈有多美。我给它们配个框好吗? ”

他的反应让我激动万分，我兴高采烈，并且自告奋勇第二天就拿去装框。

几个星期过去了。十一月的一天，电话铃响了，一股寒意冻得我发僵。我拿起话筒，听到我当医生的丈夫说：“我在急诊室。你爸爸中风了，情况很糟，不过他还活着。”

爸爸昏迷了数日。在他逝世的前一天，我到医院去看他。我把手放在他掌心上问道：“你知道我是谁吗，爸爸?”令所有人都感到惊讶的是，他低声轻语道：“你是我的乖女儿。”第二天他溘然离世，所有的欢乐在妈妈和我的生命中似乎都随之而去了。

最终我记起了给画装框的事，谢天谢地，让父亲在离世前看到了这些画。令我惊讶的是，店主对我说父亲来过商店，交了装框的钱，还把它们包了装。由于沉浸在悲痛中，我再没想过把画送给母亲。

Even though we lost the patriarch of our family, everyone was assembled on Christmas Day making an effort to be cheerful. As I looked into my mother ’ s sad eyes and unsmiling face, I decided to give her daddy ’ s and my gift. As she stripped the paper from the box, I saw her heart wasn ’ t in it. There was a small card inside attached to the pictures.

After looking at the portraits and reading the card, her entire demeanor changed. She bounced out of her chair, handed the card to me and commissioned my brothers to hang the paintings facing each other over the fireplace. She stepped back and looked for a long while. With sparkling, tear filled eyes and a wide smile; she quickly turned and said, “ I knew Daddy would be with us on Christmas Day! ”

I glanced at the gift card scrawled in my father’s handwriting.“Mother—Our daughter reminded me why I am soblessed. I’ll be looking at you always—Daddy.”

尽管失去了一家之主，圣诞节那天所有的人还是到齐了—努力使气氛轻快起来。当我看到妈妈悲伤的双眼和挤不出笑容的面孔时，便决定把爸爸和我的礼物送给她。我看得出来，她从盒子里拿出礼物拆去包装时心不在焉。值得一提的是，画像上还附有一张小卡片。

看了肖像和卡片之后，她的态度整个儿变了。她从椅子上蹦起来，把卡片递给我看，让我的兄弟把画面对面地挂到壁炉上方。她向后退

了几步，看了好长一会儿，然后她迅速转过身来，眼睛亮晶晶的，她泪水盈眶而又笑容灿烂地说道：“我就知道圣诞节你们的爸爸会和我们在一起的! ”

我看着礼品卡上爸爸的笔迹。“妈妈—女儿提醒了我是多么的有福气。我将永远凝视着你—爸爸。”