I grew up in a small town where the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age, not so long ago , when children could go home for lunch and find their mothers waiting.我是在一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)上長(zhǎng)大的，從鎮(zhèn)上的小學(xué)校到我家， 只需步行10分鐘。離當(dāng)前不算太太久遠(yuǎn)的那個(gè)時(shí)代 ， 小學(xué)生可以回家吃午飯，而他們的母親，則會(huì)老早在家等候著。

　　At the time, I did not consider this a luxury, although today it certainly would be. I took it for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers, the finger-painting appreciators and the homework monitors. I never questioned that this ambitious, intelligent woman, who had had a career before I was born and would eventually return to a career, would spend almost every lunch hour throughout my elementary school years just with me.這一切對(duì)如今的孩子來(lái)說(shuō)，無(wú)疑是一種奢望了，可是那時(shí)的我，卻并不以為然。 我覺(jué)得做母親的給她的孩子制作三明治，鑒賞指畫(huà)，檢查他們的家庭作業(yè)，都是理所當(dāng)然的事。我從來(lái)沒(méi)有想過(guò)：像我母親這樣一個(gè)頗有抱負(fù)又很聰明的女人，在我降生之前，她有一份工作，而且后來(lái)她又謀了份差事，可是，在我上小學(xué)那幾年，她卻幾乎天天陪著我吃午飯，一同打發(fā)午餐時(shí)的每一分鐘。

　　I only knew that when the noon bell rang, I would race breathlessly home. My mother would be standing at the top of the stairs, smiling down at me with a look that suggested I was the only important thing she had on her mind. For this, I am forever grateful.只記得，每當(dāng)午時(shí)鈴聲一響，我就一口氣地往家里跑。母親總是站在門(mén)前臺(tái)階的最高層，笑盈盈地望著我--那神情分明表示：我便是母親心目中唯一最重要的東西了。為此，我一輩子都要感謝我的母親。