A Letter to My Daughter 致我的女兒

從出生起，你就肆無忌憚地享受她對(duì)你的愛。在她的呵護(hù)下，你撒嬌，任性，叛逆，成長(zhǎng)，然后頭也不回地飛向外面廣闊的世界。你對(duì)她的事了解得越來越少，距離她的心也越來越遠(yuǎn)……可對(duì)她而言，你的出生帶來的是難以形容的喜悅，你成長(zhǎng)中的每一件事她都記得無比清晰。她為你付出了無盡的愛，不求回報(bào)，無怨無悔，還認(rèn)為是你讓她的生命更有意義。本文的作者就是這樣一位母親，她對(duì)自己的女兒永遠(yuǎn)懷著一份珍視和感恩的心情。假如你能通過本文了解一點(diǎn)母親的心情，請(qǐng)一定要愛她、敬她，對(duì)她不離不棄。

Dear Anouchka，

You were born just as the sun rose on a beautiful June morning. I remember looking at you and thinking， How strange. Everything is different.

Sometimes， a single event turns out to change things so profoundly that it's hard to remember what things were like beforehand2）. Like the sun coming out unexpectedly， you made everything look different. Everything was new again， because I saw it through your eyes. Everything had to be named again， experienced as if for the first time. And you were alert3） from the very first. You'd only been born for a few hours， and I'd held you next to a vase of sweet peas so that you could catch their scent. I've always been very aware of scents， and I wondered if it was the same for you. It was—you opened your mouth and—Oof！ Suddenly you had a mouthful of sweet peas， and I knew right then that you were going to be someone who took life and shook it and tasted it and enjoyed it to the full4）.

And you were： as you grew up， you just got more and more fun. Postcards， snapshots out of time： your first Christmas， you in a red snowsuit， indignant5） over your first fall of snow—so pretty， but why did it have to be so cold？

At 2 years old， with a birthday cake made almost entirely of fruit， which was what you liked most in the world， as if you might have been some kind of hybrid6） lemur7）-child， existing on fruit and sunlight.

At 3， by the seaside and marching intrepidly8） into the Atlantic until you were completely submerged， with only the tip of your ponytail9） bobbing10） above the water.

At 4， with your invisible friends， born from who-knows-where and moving in with us for years—a little boy called Twenghi-Bombi and a rabbit called Pantoufle.

At 5， beginning school and causing chaos in your class by distributing invisible rabbits to all （Pantoufle had found a friend， and bred）.

At 6， as a fairy in a sparkly white dress and wings， which you insisted on teaming with a plastic breastplate11） and a sword—because， as you said， princesses kick ass12）.

Learning to ride a pony and walking with me to the little riding-school at the far edge of the village， talking non-stop， telling stories.

Eight years old， with dungarees13） and long plaits14）， playing with your cats in the garden.

At 9， as a special birthday treat， meeting Harry Potter on the set of the movie， a visit that left you uncharacteristically15） speechless for hours， and scored me enough Cool Parent points to make up for a dozen missed birthdays.

親愛的阿努什卡：

在6月一個(gè)美麗的清晨，你伴隨著初升的朝陽呱呱落地。記得當(dāng)時(shí)我看著你，心想：多么奇怪??！一切都不一樣了。

有時(shí)，單單一件事的發(fā)生最終都會(huì)給我們的生活帶來翻天覆地的變化，以至于我們很難記起之前的生活是什么樣子。而你就像那不期而至的太陽，讓一切看起來都變得不同以往。每樣事物都重新煥發(fā)出新意，因?yàn)檫@次我是通過你的眼睛來看的。每樣事物都得被重新認(rèn)識(shí)、重新經(jīng)歷，就好像是初次接觸一樣。而你從一開始就表現(xiàn)得很機(jī)敏。你出生剛幾個(gè)小時(shí)，我就抱著你湊近一瓶甜豌豆，好讓你聞聞甜豌豆的香味。我一直對(duì)氣味非常敏感，因此我想知道你是否也和我一樣。還真是如此——你張開嘴，然后——哎喲！你突然就含了一嘴的甜豌豆。就在那一刻，我知道你將會(huì)是一個(gè)接受生活、改變生活、品味生活、盡情享受生活的人。

而你也的確是這樣：隨著你一天天地長(zhǎng)大，你收獲了越來越多的樂趣。有一張張表明這些時(shí)刻的明信片和照片為證：這是你的第一個(gè)圣誕節(jié)，你穿著紅色的防雪服，正為你人生中的初雪而憤憤不平——雪景那么美，可為什么非得這么冷呢？

這是你兩歲時(shí)與一個(gè)幾乎全用水果做的生日蛋糕的合影，水果是這個(gè)世界上你最喜歡的東西，仿佛你也許是某種雜交的狐猴寶寶，靠水果和陽光生存。

三歲的時(shí)候，在海邊，你無畏地走進(jìn)大西洋的懷抱，直至海水完全沒過你的頭頂，只剩下馬尾辮的發(fā)梢在水面上浮動(dòng)。

這張是你四歲那年和你那些隱形朋友們的合影。沒人知道你的這些朋友是在哪兒出生的，但他們搬來與我們一起生活已有好幾年。他們中有一個(gè)是名叫特溫伊-博比的小男孩，另一個(gè)則是一只名為潘特富的兔子。

五歲的你開始上學(xué)了，把班里攪得雞犬不寧，因?yàn)槟憬o班里每個(gè)小朋友都發(fā)了一只隱形兔子（潘特富找到了伴侶，生了很多小兔子）。

六歲時(shí)，你打扮成小仙女，穿著一身閃閃發(fā)亮的白裙，戴著一雙翅膀，在你的堅(jiān)持下，還搭配了一件塑料胸鎧和一把劍——因?yàn)?，用你的話說，公主都很厲害。

你去學(xué)騎馬，和我一起走路前往村子最遠(yuǎn)一頭的那所小型馬術(shù)學(xué)校，一路上你都在滔滔不絕地講故事。

八歲時(shí)，你穿著藍(lán)色的工裝背帶褲，留著長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的辮子，在花園里與你的貓咪們玩耍。

你九歲了，作為生日的特別待遇，我?guī)闳ル娪芭臄z現(xiàn)場(chǎng)見了哈利·波特，這次見面讓你一反常態(tài)地好幾個(gè)小時(shí)都說不出話，也給我這個(gè)“酷媽”加了很多分，足以彌補(bǔ)我錯(cuò)過的你的許多個(gè)生日。

1.Joanne Harris： 喬安妮·哈里斯（1964～），英國(guó)作家，代表作為暢銷小說《濃情巧克力》（Chocolat），根據(jù)該小說改編的同名電影于2000年上映并大獲成功，贏得八項(xiàng)英國(guó)電影與電視藝術(shù)獎(jiǎng)提名和五項(xiàng)奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)提名。

2.beforehand [b??f??h?nd] adv. 預(yù)先，事先

3.alert [??l??t] adj. 思維敏捷的，感覺敏銳的

4.to the full： 盡量；最充分地

5.indignant [?n?d?ɡn?nt] adj. 憤怒的，憤憤不平的

6.hybrid [?ha?br?d] adj. 雜交成的；雜種的

7.lemur [?li?m?（r）] n. 【動(dòng)】狐猴

8.intrepidly [?n?trep?dli] adv. 無畏地，勇敢地

9.ponytail [?p??nite?l] n. 馬尾辮

10.bob [b?b] vi. （尤指在水中）上下快速擺動(dòng)

11.breastplate [?brestple?t] n. 胸鎧

12.kick ass： <俚> （尤指以強(qiáng)勢(shì)的方式）令人驚嘆

13.dungarees [d??ɡ??ri?z] n. 粗藍(lán)布工裝背帶褲

14.plait [pl?t] n. <英>辮子

15.uncharacteristically

[??n?k?r?kt??r?st?kli] adv. 不典型地；一反常態(tài)地

At 10， in the wilds of Africa， sleeping outside under the stars， hearing lions and elephants underneath the boardwalk16）.

At 11， in your school uniform， looking so different to everyone else， even though you were all dressed the same.

Dressed in white， as a snow-drift in a production of The Lion， The Witch and the Wardrobe—I missed the play， but managed to get back from the airport in time for the curtain call17）. That was the start of your love affair with everything theatrical—and though you always preferred to be backstage， rather than under the lights， to me you were always the star of the show.

At 13， sharing an iPod on the train from Leeds， rocking out18） to \"Bohemian Rhapsody\"， to the disapproval of the other passengers.

Building a sandcastle together， the three of us， on a beach in France， with lots of singing and dancing and the sea coming up like an army of waves.

Not fitting in19） at school because you didn't want to iron20） your hair. I thought it looked gorgeous. I still do.

In Hawaii， learning to surf， riding the waves like a mirage21）.

In the Arctic， one bright night， lying on our backs in the snow， watching out for22） shooting stars23）.

Watching you discover your passion for musical theatre； seeing Les Misérables for the first time， you clapping so hard at the end of the show that your watch flew off into the crowd ...

And now， turning 19， watching you heading off to London， going to university， moving away for the first time， leaving images of yourself everywhere I look for you， like reflections in a hall of mirrors ...

You've taught me so much， little girl. All those things I learnt to do， simply because you were there.

Because of you I learnt to be brave， fighting your corner24） against bullies at school； retrieving spiders from out of the bath； learning parasailing25）， surfing， riding， kayaking—all those things I'd never done， and would never have tried without you.

Because of you I learnt to understand my mother； her perpetual26） worrying， her pathological27） need for control.

Because of you I tried to tidy my room on a regular basis.

Because of you I learnt to love musical theatre， and to follow every cast change in Phantom of the Opera.

We've had such good times， you and I. We stayed friends throughout your adolescence， when everyone else's children seemed to hate being with their parents. We shared so many things； we seemed to be able to read each other's minds.

I used to assume， when I was your age， that one day I'd meet my soulmate. But I never guessed that would be you， or that one day， years from then， I would have to let you go.

You see， there are things they never tell you when you become a parent. One is that， from the day you give birth， some part of you will be afraid—always and forever. The other is that， someday， the child you love will love someone else even more than they love you. It's the price we pay， as parent， that knowledge that the biggest portion of a child's heart is only on loan， and one day must be given back. I know you don't understand this now. But you will， one day.

I fully expect to still be around， and I hope we'll still be as good friends as we are now， and have always been. I also hope that by that time， you'll have a child of your own， and so you'll know exactly what I mean when I say： I may have given you life， but you gave it right back to me， every minute of every day.

Thank you.

十歲時(shí)，你躺在非洲荒野的星空下，聽著木板人行道下傳來的獅子和大象的聲響入睡。

11歲的你穿著校服，看起來和班里其他同學(xué)如此不同，即便你們的穿著完全一樣。

你穿著一身白衣，在戲劇《獅子、女巫和魔衣櫥》中扮演一個(gè)雪堆。我錯(cuò)過了這場(chǎng)演出，不過設(shè)法在演員謝幕時(shí)及時(shí)從機(jī)場(chǎng)趕了回來。你就是從那時(shí)開始喜歡上和戲劇有關(guān)的一切——雖然你向來更喜歡做幕后工作，而不喜歡站在鎂光燈下，但對(duì)我來說，你永遠(yuǎn)是劇中的主角。

13歲時(shí)，在從利茲出發(fā)的火車上，你將iPod里的歌曲外放出來，隨著《波西米亞狂想曲》搖頭晃腦，惹得其他乘客不滿。

我們一家三口在法國(guó)的一個(gè)海灘上一邊堆沙堡，一邊又唱又跳。海水猶如千軍萬馬涌上海灘。

你在學(xué)校里不太合群，因?yàn)槟悴幌霠C頭發(fā)。我那時(shí)覺得你的發(fā)型棒極了?，F(xiàn)在我依然這么認(rèn)為。

你在夏威夷學(xué)沖浪，乘著一波波海浪前行，猶如幻景一般。

在北極一個(gè)明亮的夜晚，我們仰面躺在雪地里，等著看流星雨。

我看著你發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己對(duì)音樂劇的激情。那是你第一次看《悲慘世界》，演出結(jié)束時(shí)你使勁地鼓掌，手表都震飛了，掉進(jìn)了人群里……

而現(xiàn)在，你就要19歲了，我看著你出發(fā)去倫敦，看著你去上大學(xué)，看著你第一次離家遠(yuǎn)行，將你的幻影留在我期待看到你的每一個(gè)角落，就好像是在一個(gè)滿是鏡子的大廳里，到處都是你的身影……

你教會(huì)了我太多，小丫頭。所有那些我學(xué)會(huì)的事，都只是因?yàn)橛心恪?/p>

因?yàn)槟?，我學(xué)會(huì)了勇敢：為了你與學(xué)校里的壞家伙們吵架；把蜘蛛扔出浴缸；去學(xué)帆傘運(yùn)動(dòng)、沖浪、騎馬、劃皮艇——所有這些都是我以前從未做過的，若非有你，我也永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)去嘗試的。

因?yàn)槟?，我學(xué)會(huì)了理解我的母親，理解她永無休止的擔(dān)心和難以抑制的控制欲。

因?yàn)槟?，我努力做到定期打掃我的房間。

因?yàn)槟?，我學(xué)著喜歡音樂劇，《歌劇魅影》里的每一次換角我都如數(shù)家珍。

我和你，我們?cè)?jīng)度過這么多如此美好的時(shí)光。在你青春期那段日子里，我們一直保持著朋友關(guān)系，而其他人的孩子似乎都很討厭和他們的父母待在一起。我們分享了那么多東西，我們似乎能夠讀懂彼此的心思。

我像你這般大的時(shí)候，常?；孟胗幸惶煳視?huì)遇到我的靈魂伴侶。但我從未想到那個(gè)人會(huì)是你，也未想到有那么一天，在自那以后的若干年后，我會(huì)不得不放手讓你離開。

你知道，有些事是在你成為母親時(shí)他們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)告訴你的。其中一件就是，從你分娩的那一天起，你身體的一部分將開始擔(dān)驚受怕——一直如此且永無休止。另一件事是，有一天，你愛的孩子會(huì)愛上其他人，甚至比愛你更多。這就是我們?yōu)槿烁改敢冻龅拇鷥r(jià)：我們要知道，孩子心中最多的那一部分愛只是借給我們的，總有一天必須要收回去。我知道你現(xiàn)在還理解不了這一點(diǎn)。但你總有一天會(huì)明白。

我全心全意地希望到那時(shí)候我依然還在你身邊，希望我們?nèi)允呛门笥眩拖裎覀儸F(xiàn)在這樣，像我們一直以來這樣。我也希望到那個(gè)時(shí)候，你會(huì)有一個(gè)自己的孩子，這樣當(dāng)我說下面這句話時(shí)，你就能完全理解我的意思了：或許我給了你生命，但你卻將生命的意義回報(bào)于我，每一天的每一分鐘。

謝謝你！

16.boardwalk [?b??dw??k] n. （木板）人行道

17.curtain call： 謝幕

18.rock out： 盡情地享受搖滾樂

19.fit in： 相處融洽，適應(yīng)環(huán)境

20.iron [?a??n] vt. 熨，燙

21.mirage [?m?rɑ??] n. 海市蜃樓；幻景

22.watch out for： （密切）留意，關(guān)注

23.shooting star： 流星

24.fight one's corner： 據(jù)理力爭(zhēng)

25.parasailing [?p?r?se?l??] n. 【體】（由汽船、汽車等牽引在空中滑翔的）帆傘運(yùn)動(dòng)

26.perpetual [p??pet?u?l] adj. 永久的

27.pathological [?p?θ??l?d??kl] adj. 不理智的；無法控制的