心灵鸡汤:我最难忘的人My Most Unforgettable Character

 
　　My mother was the driving influence in my decision to become a physician. "Do good" she always said--and be there for others. I recall a long, difficult night when I was a resident at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I hadn't slept much for days. Finally, one morning at around four o'clock, I dropped into a restless slumber. An hour later, I awoke with a jolt. I had dreamed my father died. Confused and exhausted, I called home in tears. "Everything is all right," my mother assured me. "Don't worry."
　  我决定做一名内科医生是受了妈妈的很大影响。她总是说要"助人为乐"。我记起我在西北纪念医院做值班医生时度过的一个难熬的长夜。当时我已经有几天没有睡过好觉了。终于，在一天清晨大概4点钟左右，我睡着了，但睡得很不踏实。一小时后，我突然惊醒了。我梦见父亲死了。我不知所措，又精疲力竭，哭着给家里打电话。"一切平安，"母亲宽慰我说。"别担心。"

　　At six o'clock, the hospital security buzzed my room. I had visitors. Stumbling into the elevator, I wondered who had come to see me at that hour. There stood my parents. They had gotten up and driven into the city in the predawn darkness. " I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Mama said, sleepy-eyed and anxious.
       六点钟，医院保卫处打电话到我的房间，说有人找我。我急急忙忙上了电梯，心里纳闷谁会在这个时候来找我。啊，是我父母。他们天还没亮就起床，开车进城赶来看我。"我只想看看你是不是平安无事。"妈妈说，她睡眼艨胧，一脸焦虑。

　　View From Above. While my mother's spirit remained indomitable, her health turned poor. Early last year, she had major surgery. Complications developed. Eight days later, on January 31, 1990, Mama died suddenly. She was 66.
　　从天堂俯视。虽然妈妈精神依然矍铄，但身体却差了。去年年初她动了大手术，术后出现并发症。八天后，也就在 1990年1月31日，妈妈突然离开了我们，享年66岁。

　　More than 200 people came to her funeral service. In his eulogy, Leo said, "Mama poured her life out for us, reserving nothing for herself, thinking of us always, of herself never."
　　有200多人来参加她的葬礼。利欧在悼词中说："母亲把毕生都献给了我们，对自己毫无保留，心里总想着我们，唯独没有她自己。"

　　Sitting in church, I could picture my mother in heaven, looking young and beautiful just as she did in her favorite photograph. But instead of gazing out over Lake Michigan, she would be looking down at us, her six children. And she would be bursting with pride.
　　坐在教堂里，我能想像出母亲在天堂里的样子--看上去年轻、美丽，就像她那张心爱的照片上的样子一样。不过她不是在眺望密歇根湖，而是在向下注视着我们--她的六个孩子。她会一直为此自豪。

　　But we're the proud ones--proud of her and all she accomplished. More than any of us, Mama was really somebody.
　　但应该感到自豪的是我们——为母亲及她的成就而自豪。母亲比我们任何一个人都更了不起，她是真正了不起的人。