温馨夜读心灵履痕精简版文档格式.docx

1、 On the right side of the hallway was her parents room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadnt slept for days. She was really pale. Jenny would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired to force her. So Jenny just fe

2、ll asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up something was different.she wasnt in her mothers room and she wasnt wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice. “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you

3、 got us very, very scared.”2.Stopped in Silence 静止 I discovered the power of fear when I became stuck to my driveway, as if my feet were crazy-glued to the cement. As much as I tried, I could not move them. The realization that my daughters were playing in Nancys house, just one-half block away, par

4、alyzed my legs making me unable to move when I neared the end of our driveway. Dense, black smoke was rising from behind the Sycamore Maple trees on the other side of the street and was enveloping three houses, making them barely visible. Nancys house was one of them. I tried to call out for my daug

5、hters hoping to see them run safely to my arms, but my voice was also stuckstuck in my throat with no intention of coming out. There I stood; helpless, paralyzed and silenced by fear, unable to protect the two little girls I loved more than even I had realized. Seconds ticked away like hours as I si

6、lently said, “Please let them be okay.” Although trapped in a body that couldnt move or speak, I could still hear. I could hear other mothers anxiously calling their children. I could hear an eerie silence that covered the neighborhood instead of the usual happy voices of children. And, finally, I c

7、ould hear the siren of the fire engine. As the fire truck rounded the corner the siren announced, “Were on our way,” and instantly it dissolved the crazy glue that had held my feet to the cement and it unlocked the soundproof box that had silenced my voice. I was free to make sure my daughters were

8、safe. As I continued down the driveway, in what felt like slow motion, two little girls, my two little girls, ran toward me from across the street. They had come home to tell me about the fire in the garage next to Nancys house. Not only did my feet and voice work now, but my eyes were also in good

9、working order and had no trouble producing tears of happiness and relief. Tears that could only be explained to two little girls by saying, “Because Mommy loves you.”3.The Giving Trees 爱心树 I was a single parent of four small children. Money was always tight, but what we had, if not a lot, was always

10、 enough. My kids told me that in those days they didnt know we were poor. It was Christmas time, and although there wasnt money for a lot of gifts, we had our plans to celebrate. The big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas shopping at the mall. They talked and planned for weeks ahead of

11、 time, asking each other and their grandparents what they wanted for Christmas. I dreaded it. I only saved $120 for all five of us. The big day arrived and we started out early. I gave each of the four kids a twenty dollar bill and reminded them to look for gifts about four dollars each. Then everyo

12、ne scattered. We had two hours to shop; and then we would meet back at the “Santas workshop” display. Back in the car driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, laughing and teasing each other with hints and clues about what they had bought. My younger daughter, Ginger, who was about eigh

13、t years old, was unusually quiet. I noticed she had only one small, flat bag with her after her shopping spree. I could see enough through the plastic bag to tell that she had bought candy bars fifty-cent candy bars! I was so angry. What did you do with that twenty dollar bill I gave you?I wanted to

14、 yell at her, but I didnt say anything until we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, ready to be angry again when I asked her what she had done with the money. This is what she told me:“I was looking around, thinking of what to buy, and I stopped to read the little cards on on

15、e of the Salvation Armys Giving Trees. One of the cards was for a little girl, four years old, and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll with clothes and a hairbrush. So I took the card off the tree and bought the doll and hairbrush for her and took it to the Salvation Army booth. “I only had enou

16、gh money left to buy candy bars for us,” Ginger continued. “But we have so much and she doesnt have anything.” I never felt so rich as I did that day.4.Dance with Me 与我共舞 When were young and we dream of love and fulfillment, we think perhaps of moon-drenched Parisian nights or walks along the beach

17、at sunset. No one tells us that the greatest moments of a lifetime are fleeting, unplanned and nearly always catch us off guard. Not long ago, as I was reading a bedtime story to my seven-year-old daughter, Annie, I became aware of her focused gaze. She was starring at me with a faraway, trancelike

18、expression. Apparently, completing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was not as important as we first thought. I asked what she was thinking about. “Mommy,” she whispered, “I just cant stop looking at your pretty face.” I almost dissolved on the spot. Little did she know how many trying moments the glow o

19、f her sincerely loving statement would carry me through over the following years. Not long after, I took my four-year-old son to an elegant department store, where the melodic notes of a classic love song drew us toward a tuxedoed musician playing a grand piano. Sam and I sat down on a marble bench

20、nearby, and he seemed as transfixed by the lilting theme as I was. I didnt realize that Sam had stood up next to me until he turned, took my face in his little hands and said, “Dance with me.” If only those women strolling under the Paris moon knew the joy of such an invitation made by a round-cheek

21、ed boy with baby teeth. Although shoppers openly chuckled, grinned and pointed at us as we glided and whirled around the open atrium, I would not have traded a dance with such a charming young gentleman if Id been offered the universe.5.Grandpas Valentine 爷爷的情人卡 I received a call from the nursing ho

22、me. Grandpa was failing rapidly. I should come. There was nothing to do but hold his hand. “I love you, Grandpa. Thank you for always being there for me.” Memories.memories.six days a week, Grandpa in that old blue shirt caring for those cattle.on hot summer days plowing the soil, planting the corn

23、and beans and harvesting them in the fall.always working from dawn to dusk. Survival demanded work, work, work. But on Sundays he put on his gray suit and hat. Grandma wore her wine-colored dress and ivory beads, and they went to church. Grandpa and Grandma were quiet, peaceful, unemotional people.

24、The nurse apologized for having to ask me so soon to remove Grandpas things from the room. It would not take long. There wasnt much. Then I found it in the top drawer of his nightstand. It looked like a very old handmade valentine. What must have been red paper at one time was a streaked faded pink.

25、 A piece of white paper had been glued to the center of the heart. On it, penned in Grandmas handwriting, were these words:TO LEE FROM HARRIET With All My Love, February 14, 1895 Are you alive? Real? Or are you the most beautiful dream that I have had in years?Are you an angel or a figment of my ima

26、gination?Someone I fabricated to fill the void? To soothe the pain?Where did you find the time to listen? How could you understand?You made me laugh when my heart was crying. You took me dancing when I couldnt take a step. You helped me set new goals when I was dying. You showed me dew drops and I had diamonds. You brought me wildflowers and I had orchids. You sang to me and ange