不要等待“总有一天”Everyday Is a Gift（1/2）
Uand these new words before you read this article.
1. discard[diskɑ:d]v. 抛弃
2. s[sl?]v. 猛击
3. endure[dju?]v. 忍耐
4. exquisite[ekskwizit]adj. 精致的
My brother--w opehe botto drawer of y sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue-ed pae. The price tag with an astronoical figure on it was still attached.“Jan bought this the first ti we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was savg it for a special oasion. Well, I guess this is the oasioook the slip froand put it on the bed with the other clothes we were takg to the orti. His hands lgered on the soft aterial for a ont, then he sd the drawer shut and turo .“Don’t ever save anythg for a special oasion. Every day you’re alive is a special oasion.”
I rebered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped hi and y ed death. I thought about the on the purng to California fro the Midwestern town where y sister’s faily lives. I thought about all the thgs that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the thgs that she had dohout realizg that they were special.
I’ still thkg about his words, and they’ve ged y life. I’ readg ore and dtg less. I’ sittg on the ded adirg the view without fsg about the weedsthe garden. I’ spendg ore ti with y faily and friends aiittee etgs. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experieo savor, not endure. I’ tryg these onts now and cherish the.
I’ not“savg”anythg; we e ood cha and crystal for every special event—such as losg a pound, gettg the sk uhe first callia blosso. I wear y good bzer to the arket if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prospero, Ishell out $28.49 for one sall bag of groceries without cg. I’ not savg y good perfu for special parties; clerkshardware stores and tellersbanks have hat fun as well as y party-gog friends’.
“Soday”and“one of these days”are losg their grip on y vocabury. If it’s worth seeg or hearg , I want to see and hear and do it now. I’ not sure what y sister would have done had she known that she wouldn’t be here for the toorrow we all take franted. I thk she would have called faily bers and a few close friends. She ight have called a few forr friends to apologize and nd fences for past squabbles. I like to thk she would have go for a Chese dner, her favorite food. I’ guessg—I’ll never know.
It’s those little thgs left uhat would akeangry if I khat y hours were liited. Angry becae I put off seeg good friends who I was gog to gettouch with“soday”. Angry becae I hadn’t writtea letters that I teo write—one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn’t tell y hband and daughter often enough how uch I truly love the.
I’ tryg very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anythg that would add ughter and ster to our lives.
And everywhen I open y eyes, I tell yself that it is special. Every day, every ute, every breath truly is... a gift fro God.
妹夫打开妹妹书桌最底下的抽屉，拿出一个裹着纸片的小包。“这个，”他说，“不是一张纸片，而是一件女士内衣。”他弄掉纸片，把它递给我。这是一件精致的女士内衣，是用手工缝制的丝制品，整齐地镶着蛛网似的花边。衣服上甚至还钉着数额惊人的价格标签。“这是我和简第一次去纽约时买的，至少是八九年以前了，她从来没有穿过，一直在等一个特殊的场合。我想，现在该是时候了。”他从我的手上拿过内衣，把它和其他衣服一起摆到**，我们要把它们带到殡仪馆。他的手在那柔软的面料上摩挲了一会儿，然后砰地关上抽屉，转过来对我说：“千万别珍藏什么东西去等待一个合适的机会，你活着的每一天都是一个机会。”我牢记着这些话，帮着他和侄女处理这起因意外事故丧生后的葬礼和各种悲伤琐事。在我从妹妹居住的这个中西部小镇飞往加利福尼亚的飞机上，我还在回想着那些话语。我想着那些她从来没有见过、听过或者做过的事情，想着那些她经历过却没有意识到其独特性的事情。现在我仍然还在思索他的话，这些话甚至改变了我的一生。我阅读更多的东西，少了很多迷惑。我坐在草地上欣赏风景，不再去担心花园的杂草。我花更多的时间陪伴家人和朋友，不再一味地参加无聊的会议。不论何时，生活应该是一种享受的过程，而不是忍受。我开始认识并珍视现在的每一时刻。
我不再珍藏任何东西，我用上好的瓷器和水晶器，庆贺每—件事——比如减掉了一磅体重，打通了堵塞的下水道，开放了第一朵茶花。只要我喜欢，我会穿上我漂亮的夹克衫去逛超市。我的逻辑是，如果我看上去够有钱，我会毫不犹豫地花28.49美元去买一小袋杂货。我不会珍藏我的名贵香水去等待一个特殊的晚会，商店职员和银行出纳员的鼻子跟我的舞友的鼻子有着同样的功能。
“总有一天”和“某一天”对我已经失去了意义。如果某件事值得去看、去听、去做，我会立刻去实行。我不知道，如果妹妹知道她不再拥有我们都认为理所当然会到来的明天时，她会怎么做。我想她会给家人和一些亲密的朋友打电话。她会打电话给以前的一些朋友，为曾经发生过的争论道歉或弥补关系。我想她会出去，到一家中餐厅，吃她最喜爱的食物。我只是猜想——永远都不会知道了。
如果时间紧迫，而我还有一些事情没有做完，我会愤怒不已，我会为不得不把准备去拜访的朋友推延到“某一天”而恼火，为曾经设想着的“总有一天”会写下来的词句而没有写下来而生气，为没有尽可能多地告诉我的丈夫和女儿我是多么爱他们而后悔和遗憾。
本章未完，点击下一页继续阅读。