给母亲的祷告(Prayer for My Mother )

师哈哈达人

　　给母亲的祈祷
　　安·兰德拉
　　亲爱的上帝：
　　如今我已不再年轻，一些朋友的母亲已经去世了。我曾听这些儿女们说过，他们从没有好好地向母亲表示过他们的感激之情，而待到要告诉她们时又已经为时太晚。
　　幸运的是，我的母亲依然健在。我对她的感激之情与日俱增。母亲没有变化，而我依然在变。随着年岁与智慧的增长，我认识到她是一个杰出非凡的人。这些话在她面前我难以启齿，但在笔下却可以轻易地写出来，这真令我感到难过。
　　一个女儿该怎样开口来感谢她的母亲所给予的生命?还有她在抚养孩子时所付出的爱、耐心以及辛勤劳动?还有她跟在蹒跚学步的孩子身后的奔跑，对情绪不定的少女的理解，以及对一个自以为是的大学生的宽容?还有她等待着女儿认识到她是一位良母的这一天?
　　一个成年女子该怎样感谢母亲依然故我地继续着她母亲的角色?为了在被问到时她准备好的建议，还有在需要时她的沉默?为了她没有说我告诉过你而她本有机会说上许多次?为了她本人所具有的爱心、周详、耐心与谅解?
　　我不知道该怎样来表达，亲爱的上帝，除了请求您好好地保佑她&&那是她应该得到的&&并帮助我朝她做出的榜样看齐。我祈愿在孩子的眼中我会如同母亲在我眼中一般好。
　　&&一个女儿
　　prayer for my mother
　　by ann landers
　　dear god,
　　now that i am no longer young, i have friends whose mothers have passed away. i have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them.
　　i am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. i appreciate her more each day. my mother does not change, but i do. as i grow older and wiser, i realize what an extraordinary person she is. how sad that i am unable to speak these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.
　　how does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? for the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? for running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, for tolerating a college student who knows everything? for waiting for the day when a daughter realizes how wise her mother really is?
　　how does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? for being ready with advice (when asked) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? for not saying, i told you so, when she could have uttered these words dozens of times? for being essentially herself &loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving?
　　i don not how, dear god, except to ask you to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. i pray that i will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.
　　&&a daughter