English Original
Growing up, I don't recall hearing "I love you" from my father. When a father never says those words to his child, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to say them as he ages. Honestly, I couldn't remember the last time I'd said them to him either. I decided to set my ego aside and make the first move. After some hesitation, I blurted out, "Dad... I love you!" during our next phone call.
Silence followed on the other end before he awkwardly replied, "Well, same back at ya!"
I chuckled and said, "Dad, I know you love me. When you're ready, I know you'll say what you want to say."
Fifteen minutes later, my mother called nervously, "Paul, is everything okay?"
A few weeks later, Dad concluded our call with, "Paul, I love you." I was at work, and tears rolled down my cheeks as I finally "heard" his love. In that tearful moment, we both realized our relationship had reached a new level.
Shortly after, my father narrowly survived heart surgery. I've often pondered since: if I hadn't taken that first step, and if he hadn't survived, I would never have "heard" his love.
中文翻译
在我的成长过程中，我不记得听父亲说过“我爱你”。当一个父亲从未对孩子说过这些话时，随着年龄增长，他会越来越难说出口。说实话，我也记不清上一次对他说“我爱你”是什么时候了。我决定放下自我，主动迈出第一步。犹豫片刻后，我在下一次电话中脱口而出：“爸爸……我爱你！”
电话那头一阵沉默，然后他笨拙地回应道：“嗯，我也一样！”
我轻声笑了，说：“爸爸，我知道你爱我。等你准备好了，我知道你会说出你想说的话。”
十五分钟后，母亲紧张地打来电话：“保罗，一切都好吗？”
几周后，父亲在结束通话时说：“保罗，我爱你。”当时我正在工作，泪水顺着脸颊滑落，我终于“听见”了他的爱。在那个我们都泪流满面的时刻，我们意识到，这个特殊的瞬间将我们的父子关系提升到了一个新的高度。
此后不久，父亲在心脏手术后侥幸生还。自那以后，我常常思考：如果我没有迈出那第一步，如果他没有挺过手术，我将永远无法“听见”他的爱。