English Original
My day began on a decidedly sour note when I saw my six-year-old wrestling with a limb of my azalea bush. By the time I got outside, he'd broken it. "Can I take this to school today?" he asked. With a wave of my hand, I sent him off. I turned my back so he wouldn't see the tears gathering in my eyes. I loved that azalea bush. I touched the broken limb as if to say silently, "I'm sorry."
I wished I could have said that to my husband earlier, but I'd been angry. The washing machine had leaked on my brand-new linoleum. If he'd just taken the time to fix it the night before when I asked him instead of playing checkers with Jonathan. What are his priorities anyway? I wondered. I was still mopping up the mess when Jonathan walked into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast, Mom?" I opened the empty refrigerator. "Not cereal," I said, watching the sides of his mouth drop. "How about toast and jelly?" I smeared the toast with jelly and set it in front of him. Why was I so angry? I tossed my husband's dishes into the sudsy water.
It was days like this that made me want to quit. I just wanted to drive up to the mountains, hide in a cave, and never come out.
Somehow I managed to lug the wet clothes to the laundromat. I spent most of the day washing and drying clothes and thinking how love had disappeared from my life. Staring at the graffiti on the walls, I felt as wrung-out as the clothes left in the washers.
As I finished hanging up the last of my husband's shirts, I looked at the clock. 2:30. I was late. Jonathan's class let out at 2:15. I dumped the clothes in the back seat and hurriedly drove to the school.
I was out of breath by the time I knocked on the teacher's door and peered through the glass. With one finger, she motioned for me to wait. She said something to Jonathan and handed him and two other children crayons and a sheet of paper.
What now? I thought, as she rustled through the door and took me aside. "I want to talk to you about Jonathan," she said.
I prepared myself for the worst. Nothing would have surprised me. "Did you know Jonathan brought flowers to school today?" she asked. I nodded, thinking about my favorite bush and trying to hide the hurt in my eyes. I glanced at my son busily coloring a picture. His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow. He brushed it away with the back of his hand. His eyes burst with blue as he admired his handiwork. "Let me tell you about yesterday," the teacher insisted. "See that little girl?" I watched the bright-eyed child laugh and point to a colorful picture taped to the wall. I nodded.
"Well, yesterday she was almost hysterical. Her mother and father are going through a nasty divorce. She told me she didn't want to live, she wished she could die. I watched that little girl bury her face in her hands and say loud enough for the class to hear, 'Nobody loves me.' I did all I could to console her, but it only seemed to make matters worse." "I thought you wanted to talk to me about Jonathan," I said.
"I do," she said, touching the sleeve of my blouse. "Today your son walked straight over to that child. I watched him hand her some pretty pink flowers and whisper, 'I love you.'"
I felt my heart swell with pride for what my son had done. I smiled at the teacher. "Thank you," I said, reaching for Jonathan's hand, "you've made my day."
Later that evening, I began pulling weeds from around my lopsided azalea bush. As my mind wandered back to the love Jonathan showed the little girl, a biblical verse came to me: "...these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." While my son had put love into practice, I had only felt anger.
I heard the familiar squeak of my husband's brakes as he pulled into the drive. I snapped a small limb bristling with hot pink azaleas off the bush. I felt the seed of love that God planted in my family beginning to bloom once again in me. My husband's eyes widened in surprise as I handed him the flowers. "I love you," I said.
中文翻译
我的一天从一件糟心事开始：我看到六岁的儿子正在和我那丛杜鹃花的一根枝条“搏斗”。等我赶到外面时，他已经把它折断了。“我今天能把这个带到学校去吗？”他问。我挥了挥手，打发他走了。我转过身，不让他看到我眼中积聚的泪水。我太爱那丛杜鹃花了。我抚摸着断枝，仿佛在无声地说：“对不起。”
我多希望早些时候能对丈夫说这句话，但我当时很生气。洗衣机漏水，弄脏了我崭新的油毡地板。要是他昨晚我请他修理时，能花点时间修好它，而不是和乔纳森下跳棋就好了。他的优先事项到底是什么？我暗自思忖。乔纳森走进厨房时，我还在清理那片狼藉。“妈妈，早餐吃什么？”我打开空荡荡的冰箱。“没有麦片了，”我说，看着他嘴角耷拉下来。“吐司加果酱怎么样？”我把果酱涂在吐司上，放在他面前。我为什么这么生气？我把丈夫的餐具扔进了满是泡沫的水里。
正是这样的日子让我想放弃一切。我只想开车进山，躲进一个山洞，再也不出来。
我设法把湿衣服拖到了自助洗衣店。我花了几乎一整天的时间洗衣服、烘干衣服，同时想着爱是如何从我的生活中消失的。我盯着墙上的涂鸦，感觉自己就像洗衣机里剩下的衣服一样，被拧干了。
当我挂好丈夫的最后一件衬衫时，我看了看钟。两点半了。我迟到了。乔纳森的班级两点十五分放学。我把衣服扔在后座，匆忙开车赶往学校。
我敲响老师的门，透过玻璃往里看时，已经上气不接下气。她用一根手指示意我等待。她对乔纳森说了些什么，然后递给他和另外两个孩子蜡笔和一张纸。
又怎么了？我心想。这时她窸窸窣窣地穿过门，把我拉到一边。“我想和你谈谈乔纳森，”她说。
我做好了最坏的准备。没什么能让我惊讶了。“你知道乔纳森今天带花来学校了吗？”她问。我点点头，想着我心爱的花丛，试图掩饰眼中的受伤。我瞥了一眼正忙着给一幅画涂色的儿子。他卷曲的头发太长了，耷拉在眉毛下。他用手背把它拨开。欣赏自己的作品时，他的蓝眼睛闪闪发亮。“让我告诉你昨天的事，”老师坚持道。“看到那个小女孩了吗？”我看着那个眼睛明亮的孩子笑着指向墙上贴的一幅彩色图画。我点了点头。
“嗯，昨天她几乎歇斯底里了。她的父母正在经历一场难堪的离婚。她告诉我她不想活了，她希望自己能死掉。我看着那个小女孩把脸埋在手里，声音大到全班都能听见地说：‘没人爱我。’我尽我所能安慰她，但这似乎只会让情况更糟。”“我以为你想和我谈乔纳森，”我说。
“是的，”她说着，碰了碰我衬衫的袖子。“今天你的儿子径直走向那个孩子。我看到他把一些漂亮的粉色花朵递给她，并低声说：‘我爱你。’”
我为儿子的所作所为感到心中充满了自豪。我对老师笑了笑。“谢谢你，”我说着，伸手去牵乔纳森的手，“你让我今天变得美好。”
那天晚上晚些时候，我开始清理我那株歪斜的杜鹃花周围的杂草。当我的思绪飘回乔纳森向小女孩展示的爱时，一段圣经经文浮现在我的脑海：“……常存的有信，有望，有爱；这三样，其中最大的是爱。”当我的儿子将爱付诸实践时，我却只感受到了愤怒。
我听到丈夫把车开进车道时熟悉的刹车吱吱声。我从花丛上折下一小枝开满鲜艳粉红色杜鹃花的枝条。我感到上帝种在我家庭中的爱的种子，开始再次在我心中绽放。当我把花递给丈夫时，他的眼睛惊讶地睁大了。“我爱你，”我说。