丁香花開 Of Lilacs and Springtime
This past April while visiting my parents on the farm I'd grown up on, I wandered outside to drink in the feel of "home", a comfort I really needed right then. I was used to sunny Southern Californian morning and the brisk early-morning Iowan air nipped at my nose, ears and bare my father's fleece-lined jacket wrapped around me, and my hands snuggled deep in its well-worn pocket I meandered around the spacious homestead when the unexpected sweet scent of lilacs suddenly called to me. Turning toward the bountiful hedge of lilacs in the distance, I spotted what looked like blooms. I hurried lavender lilacs were indeed in glorious bloom! I pulled a plentiful clump to my face and inhaled the intoxicating scent, as I had done every springtime throughout my childhood. A warm delight seeped through my chilled bone and I smiled at the thought that spring had arrived!Strolling back to the house, the promise of springtime—warmth, renewal and beauty—journeyed right along with father sat at the kitchen table, poring over the morning market reports."It's spring! The lilacs are in bloom!" I joyously announced."Lilacs in bloom or not, it isn't spring until winter is gone," he contradicted. "We'll get a bit of cold weather yet.
剛剛過去的那個四月，我回到我在那長大的農場探望我的父母。我在屋外漫步，沉浸在“家”的舒適感覺中——當時我真的很需要家的慰藉。我習慣了加利福尼亞州南部那陽光明媚的早晨，艾奧瓦州清晨凜冽的空氣使我的鼻子、耳朵和沒戴手套的雙手感到一陣陣冰冷的刺痛。我穿着父親的一件羊毛襯裏的夾克，把它裹得緊緊的，然後把手深深插進它那殘破的口袋裏，漫步在廣袤的農場上。這時，一陣紫丁花香意外地撲鼻而來。我轉過頭去，看到遠處圍欄邊一叢叢茂密的紫丁香似乎在怒放。我趕緊跑了過去。淡紫色的丁香花的確在燦爛地怒放着！我拉過一大束，湊到面前，盡情地聞着那令人陶醉的花香——童年的時候，每年春天，我都會這樣聞聞紫丁香。一股溫暖的喜悅沁潤了我冰冷的身骨。想到春天已經來了，我不禁微笑起來。我漫步回家，一路上，春天的徵兆——溫暖、萬物復甦和美麗一直縈繞在我心頭。父親正坐在廚房的餐桌前，出神地看着早晨股市播報。“春天來了！紫丁香花盛開了！”我歡欣雀躍地宣佈。“不管紫丁香開不開花，只有冬天過去了，纔是春天，”父親反駁說，“寒冷的天氣還要持續一段時間呢。”
But my heart refused to let the optimism that the lilacs had brought to me fade. Immediately, I recalled the card my mother had sent me just that past week—one that had subconsciously inspired this trip home. My mother knew that I was feeling down. On the cover of the card she sent me was a photo of a single flower emerging from a desolate barren slope of rock. The exquisite flower willed itself to have life, in spite of the conditions around it. Inside were the words "In the midst of winter, I found within me an eternal spring," followed by my mother's words:"Spring has always been your favorite time of year. As alway it's within."These are words that my mother, ever the optimist, lives by. Even in the midst of winter, she finds spring."It's pouring rain!" Dad once said."Everything smells so fresh after a rain!" Mom responded."But I'd wanted to get the yards mowed today," he replied, obviously disappointed."We need the rain," she countered. "Now everything will be greener.""But the forecast is rain for the entire day," Dad moaned."Then we should go to the movies this afternoon," Mom smiled."It's so expensive," he retorted."That's precisely why we should go to the matinee," she countered. "Three of the kids can get in free, and it's only half-price for the rest of us."
但我內心深處不願意讓紫丁香剛剛帶給我的期待消失。我隨即想起上一個星期母親送給我的一張卡片——正是那張卡片促使我潛意識地作了回家的決定。母親知道我那時心情不好。她送給我的那張卡片的正面是一張照片，照片上是一朵花，它從一塊岩石的荒蕪貧瘠的斜面上生長出來。儘管周圍的環境十分惡劣，這朵嬌嫩的小花卻頑強地綻放着生命。卡片裏面有一些文字：“在隆冬裏，我在內心找到了永恆的春天。”緊接着還有一句母親寫給我的話：“一直以來，春天都是你最喜愛的季節。春天一直都在你心裏。”這就是我那永遠樂觀的母親的人生信念。即使是在隆冬，她也能找到春天。“下大雨了！”有一次父親說。“雨後的一切聞起來是那麼的清新！”母親回答說。“可我本來想今天割院子裏的草的，”父親帶着很失望的語氣說。“我們需要這場雨，”母親反駁說，“大雨過後一切會變得更青翠。”“但天氣預報說，這場雨會下一整天，”父親抱怨道。“那我們今天下午應該去看電影，”母親笑着說。“票價太貴了，”父親反駁道。“那恰恰是我們應該去看下午場的原因，”她回答說，“三個孩子可以免票進場，我們其他人只要半票。”
Recalling this Rockwell scene of a Sunday afternoon when I was twelve, I'm reminded that for my mother torrential rains produced a rainbow, and there was always a pot of gold at the end of it. I love her sense of joy and optimism. And her ever-ready willingness to share ughout my childhood and over the course of my adult year when I met with succes my mother presented me with a bouquet of lilacs. And on the days when the lemons were so bitter they simply couldn't be made into lemonade, no matter how much sugar was added, like the day a good friend passed away; like the day when a long-standing love relationship ended… lilacs arrived from my mother with a note of understanding to match their beauty and sweet fragrance."Spring has always been your favorite time of year," she always reminded. "As alway it's within."Even so, it was the lilacs made her words ring true. With the sight and fragrance of that April morning's came the realization of why a trip home was necessary. I needed to assuage my sadnes my feelings of loneliness and melancholy. I was pining. My dear daughter, now an adult, had moved into a place of her own. She now lives many states and many miles away. While happy for her, I mourn the loss of her nearness…That morning, the sight of the lilacs brought my mother's words back to life. They reminded me that in the midst of an internal winter, a winter that is within, I must recall the beauty of springtime and the scent of the lilacs. So I will not see her as having gone away, but rather as taking part in new and wondrous experiences in a world that has as many springtimes as winters."Dad, the lilacs are in bloom. It's spring!" I assured my father that day."Hmm," he said, glancing at me, his expression skeptical. Noting my frown, his features softened. "Of course it's possible that spring has arrived," he placated, smiling. "After all, like you said, the lilacs are in bloom."Oh, for the ever-renewing beauty of springtime! And the sweet and irrepressible scent of the lilacs to remind us that spring is found within.
回憶着我12歲那年這個帶有洛克威爾畫風的週日下午的場景，我想到，對母親而言，傾盆大雨過後會出現一道彩虹；無論發生什麼事，最後都會收穫良多。我愛她那積極樂觀的心態，愛她總是樂意與他人分享這種樂觀心態的品質。在我的童年時期以及我長大以後的日子裏，每當我取得成功時，母親都會給我送上一束紫丁香。而有的時候，比如好友去世，又如長久的愛情告終時，生命會像苦澀的檸檬，無論加多少糖，也調製不成一杯可口的檸檬水……這時，母親同樣會給我送來紫丁香，同時還附上一張與紫丁香的美麗和芬芳相匹配的紙條，上面寫滿了對我的理解。“春天一直是你最喜愛的季節，”她總是提醒我，“春天一直在你心裏。”儘管如此，還是紫丁香讓我感到母親的話是真的。那個四月的早晨盛開的紫丁香和它那撲鼻的芬芳讓我意識到，這次回家是必要的。我需要緩解悲傷、緩解我的孤獨和憂鬱。我在苦苦思念——我親愛的女兒已經長大成人，搬出去自己住了。她現在住的地方與我相隔千里。我爲她感到高興的同時，也因爲她不再在我身邊而傷感。那天早晨，看到燦爛盛開着的紫丁香讓我又想起了母親的話。它們提醒我，即便內心處於漫漫寒冬，我也要記起春天的美麗和紫丁香的芬芳。所以，我不再覺得女兒是離我遠去——她是步入了一個全新的、即將迎來更多精彩的世界。在那個世界，春天和寒冬一樣多。“爸爸，紫丁香開了！春天來了！”那天我很肯定地對父親說。“嗯，”他應答着，瞥了我一眼，一副懷疑的表情。看到我皺眉，他的表情柔和起來。“當然，有可能春天已經來了，”他微笑着安慰我說，“畢竟，就像你所說的，紫丁香已經盛開了。”啊，讓我們爲春天那年年迴歸的美麗歡呼吧！紫丁香那沁人心脾的芳香告訴我們，春天就在我們心裏。
