I grew up in a small town where the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age ,

 

我是在一个小镇上长大的，从镇上的小学校到我家，只需步行10分钟。

 

not so long ago , when children could go home for lunch and find their mothers waiting.

 

离当前不算太太久远的那个时代 ，小学生可以回家吃午饭，而他们的母亲，则会老早在家等候着。

 

At the time, I did not consider this a luxury, although today it certainly would be.

 

这一切对如今的孩子来说，无疑是一种奢望，可是那时的我却不以为然。

 

I took it for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers, the finger-painting appreciators and the homework monitors.

 

我觉得做母亲的给她的孩子制作三明治，鉴赏指画，检查他们的家庭作业，都是理所当然的事。

 

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.

 

我从来没有想过：像我母亲这样一个颇有抱负又很聪明的女人，在我降生之前，她有一份工作，而且后来她又谋了份差事，可是，在我上小学那几年，她却几乎天天陪着我吃午饭，一同打发午餐时的每一分钟。

 

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.

 

只记得，每当午时铃声一响，我就一口气地往家里跑。母亲总是站在门前台阶的最高层，笑盈盈地望着我--那神情分明表示：我便是母亲心目中唯一最重要的东西了。

 

For this, I am forever grateful.

 

为此，我一辈子都要感谢我的母亲。

 

Some sounds bring it all back: the highpitched squeal of my mother's teakettle, the rumble of the washing machine in the basement and the jangle of my dog's license tags as she bounded down the stairs to greet me.

 

如今，每当我听到一些声音，像母亲那把茶壶水开时发出的尖叫声，地下室洗衣机的隆隆声，还有， 我那条狗蹦下台阶冲我摇头摆尾时它脖子上那牌照发出的撞击声，便会勾起我对往事的回忆。

 

Our time together seemed devoid of the gerrymandered schedules that now pervade my life.

 

和母亲在一起的岁月，全然没有充斥于我的生活中的、事先排定的虚情假意的日程表。

 

One lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always.

 

我永远忘不了在我上三年级时的那一顿午饭。

 

I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly rehearsed my lines with me.

 

在那天之前，我被学校选中，要在一个即将演出的小剧中扮演公主的角色。一连好几个礼拜，母亲总是不辞辛劳地陪着我，一起背诵台词。

 

But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head.

 

可是，不管在家里怎么背得滚瓜烂熟，只要一上舞台，我的脑子里就成了一片空白。

 

Finally, my teacher took me aside.

 

终于，老师把我叫到了一边。

 

She explained that she had written a narrator's part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.

 

她说剧中旁白这个角色的台词已写好了，想把我替换下来当旁白。

 

Her word, kindly delivered, still stung, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

 

尽管老师这些话说得和和气气，可还是刺痛了我的心，特别是当我发觉自己扮演的公主角色让另外一个女孩顶替时，更是如此。

 

I didn't tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day.

 

那天回家吃午饭时我没有把这事告诉母亲。

 

But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked If I wanted to walk in the yard.

 

然而，母亲见我心神不定，因此没有再提练习背台词的事儿，而是问我愿意不愿意到院子里散散步。