English Original
My newlywed husband said the same thing every morning. "You're beautiful today."
One glance in the mirror revealed that it was far from the truth. A skinny girl with mashed hair on one side of her head and no makeup smiled back at me. I could feel my sticky morning breath.
"Liar," I shot back with a grin.
It was my usual response. My mother's first husband was not a kind man. His verbal and physical abuse forced her and her two children to find a safe place. He showed up on her doorstep one day with roses. She let him in, and he beat her with those roses and took advantage of her. Nine months later, she gave birth to a 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl — me.
The harsh words we heard growing up took root. I had trouble seeing myself as someone of value. I had been married two years when I surprised myself. My husband wrapped his arms around me and told me I was beautiful.
"Thank you," I said.
The same thin girl with the mousy brown hair still stared back at me in the mirror, but somehow the words had finally blossomed in my heart.
A lot of years have passed. My husband has grey in his hair. I'm no longer skinny. Last week I woke up and my husband's face was inches from mine.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
I covered my mouth, trying to hide my morning breath. He reached down and kissed my face.
"What I do every morning," he said.
He leaves in the early hours of the morning while I sleep. I miss our morning conversations, but I had not realized that he continued to tell me that he loved me even while I slept. When he left, I rolled over and hugged my pillow. I envisioned the picture of me lightly snoring with my mouth open and giggled.
What a man! My husband understands my past. He's been beside me as I've grown from an unsure young girl to a confident woman, mother, speaker, and author.
But I'm not sure that he understands the part he played in that transition. The words I heard growing up pierced my soul, yet his words pierced even deeper.
This Anniversary Day I plan to wake early. I want to tell Richard how much I love him. He may look in the mirror and see an extra pound or two, or wish for the day when his hair was dark and curly, but all I'll see is the man who saw something in me when I couldn't see it myself, and who leaves butterfly kisses, even after twenty-three years of marriage.
中文翻译
新婚时，我丈夫每天早上都说同样的话：“你今天真美。”
只需瞥一眼镜子，就知道这远非事实。镜子里回望着我的，是一个头发一侧压得扁塌、素面朝天的瘦削女孩。我都能感觉到自己早晨黏腻的口气。
“骗子，”我咧嘴笑着回敬道。
这是我的惯常反应。我母亲的第一任丈夫不是个善良的人。他的言语和身体虐待迫使她和她的两个孩子去寻找一个安全的地方。一天，他带着玫瑰出现在她家门口。她让他进了门，他却用那些玫瑰殴打她并侵犯了她。九个月后，她生下了一个重9磅13盎司的女婴——那就是我。
我们成长过程中听到的那些刻薄话语深深扎根。我很难把自己看作一个有价值的人。结婚两年后，我让自己都感到惊讶。丈夫搂着我，告诉我我很美。
“谢谢你，”我说。
镜子里回望我的，还是那个有着鼠褐色头发的瘦削女孩，但不知怎的，那句话终于在我心中绽放了。
许多年过去了。丈夫的头发已染上灰白。我也不再瘦削。上周我醒来时，丈夫的脸离我只有几英寸。
“你在做什么？”我问。
我捂住嘴，试图隐藏早晨的口气。他俯身亲吻了我的脸。
“做我每天早上都做的事，”他说。
他总是在我还在睡梦中的清晨离开。我怀念我们早上的交谈，但我从未意识到，即使在我睡着时，他仍在继续告诉我他爱我。他离开后，我翻过身，抱紧了枕头。我想象着自己张着嘴轻轻打鼾的样子，不禁咯咯笑了起来。
多好的男人啊！我的丈夫理解我的过去。在我从一个缺乏自信的年轻女孩成长为一名自信的女性、母亲、演讲者和作家的过程中，他一直陪伴在我身边。
但我不确定他是否明白他在这个转变中所扮演的角色。我成长过程中听到的话语刺穿了我的灵魂，而他的话语却刺得更深。
在这个结婚纪念日，我计划早早醒来。我想告诉理查德我有多爱他。他照镜子时，或许会看到自己多了一两磅体重，或许会怀念头发乌黑卷曲的日子，但我看到的，永远是那个在我自己都看不到自身价值时，却在我身上看到了闪光点的男人，那个在结婚二十三年后，依然留下蝶吻的男人。