失而复得的圣诞节，本文主要内容关键词为：失而复得论文,圣诞节论文，此文献不代表本站观点，内容供学术参考，文章仅供参考阅读下载。
By McCall Shirley Barksdale
Christmas was a quiet affair when I was growing up.There were just my parents and me.I vowed that someday I'd marry and have six children,and at Christmas my house would vibrate（注：振动；振颤；悸动。vibrate with...因……而悸动） with energy and live and love.
[2] I found the man who shared my dream,but we had not reckoned on（注：本意是指望，该句中应为“料到，料想”，相当于expect）the possibility of infertility.Undaunted,we applied for adoption and,within a year,he arrived.
[3] We called him our Christmas Boy because he came to us during that season of joy,when he was just six days old.Then nature surprised us again.In rapid succession（注：接连不断地）we added two biological children to the family-not as many as we had hoped for,but compared with my quiet childhood,three made an entirely satisfactory crowd.
[4] As our Christmas Boy grew,he made it clear that only he had the expertise to select and decorate the Christmas tree each year.He rushed the season,starting his gift list before we' d even finished the Thanksgiving turkey.He pressed us into singing carols,our froglike voices contrasting with his musical gift of perfect pitch.Each holiday he stirred us up,leading us through ★ a round of merry chaos（注：根据上下文应译为“熙熙攘攘的热闹场面”）.
[5] Our friends were right about adopted children not being the same.Through his own unique heredity,his irrepressible good cheer,his bossy wit,our Christmas Boy made our life colorful.He made us look and behave better than we were.
[6] Then,on his 26[th] Christmas,he left us as unexpectedly as he had come.He was kileed in a car accident on an icy Denver street,on his way home to his young wife and infant daughter.But first he had stopped by the family home to decorate our tree,a ritual he had never abandoned.
[7] Grief-stricken,his father and I sold our home,where memories clung to（注：粘着；缠着。e.g.The fragrance clung to the room.屋子芳香四溢。）every room.We moved to California,leaving behind our friends and church.
[8] In the 17 years that followed his death,his widow remarried;his daughter graduated from high school.His father and I grew old enough to retire,and in December 1986 we decided to return to Denver.
[9] We slid into the city on the tail of（注：尾随，随……而来。相当于in the wake of...。e.g.many problems that follow on the tail of flood随着洪水而来的许多问题。）a blizzard,through streets ablaze with（注：因……而闪耀，发光。be ablaze with lights灯火辉煌；be ablaze with anger怒容满面。）lights.Looking away from the flow,I fixed my gaze on the distant Rockies,where our adopted son had loved to go in search of the perfect tree.Now in the foothills there was his grave- a grave I could not bear to visit.
[10] We settled into a small,boxy house,so different from the family home where we had orchestrated（注：特地安排，使……和谐地结合起来。）our lives.It was quiet,like the house of my childhood.Our other son had married and begun his own Christmas traditions in another state.Our daughter,an artist,seemed fulfilled by her career.
[11] While I stood staring toward the snowcapped mountains one day,I heard a car pull up,then the impatient peal of the doorbell.There stood our granddaughter,and in her gray-green eyes and impudent grin I saw the reflection of our Christmas Boy.
[12] Behind her,lugging a large pine tree,came her mother,stepfather and ten-year-old half brother.They swept past us in a flurry of laughter;they uncorked wine and toasted our homecoming.They decorated the tree and piled gaily wrapped packages under the boughs.
[13] "You'll recognize the ornaments,"said my former daughter-in-law."They were his.I saved them for you."
[14] When I murmured,in remembered pain,that we hadn't had a tree for 17 years,our cheeky granddaughter said,"Then it's time to shape up!"
[15] They left in a whirl,shoving one another out the door,but not before asking us to join them the next morning for church and for dinner at their home.
[16] "Oh," I began,"We just can't."
[17] "You sure as heck can,"ordered our granddaughter,as bossy as her father had been."I'm singing the solo,and I want to see you there."
[18] We had long ago given up the poignant（注：伤心的）Christmas services,but now,under pressure,we sat rigid in the front pew,fighting back tears.
[19] Then it was solo time.Our granddaughter's magnificent soprano voice soared,clear and true,in perfect pitch.She sang "O Holy Night",which brought back bitter-sweet memories.In a rare emotional response,the congregation applauded in delight.How her father would have relished（注：爱好；喜欢） that moment.
[20] We had been altered that there would be ★ a "whole mess of peopee"（注：〔美口〕一大堆人） for dinner-but 35! Assorted relatives filled every corner of the house;small children,noisy and exuberant （注：兴高采列；气氛热烈），seemed to bounce off（注：跳过；越过） the walls.I could not sort out who belonged to whom,but it didn't matter.They all belonged to one another.They took us in,enfolded us in joyous camaraderie （注：〔法〕同志间的友谊和忠诚，此处可译为“和谐的氛围”）.We sang carols in loud,off-key voices,saved only by that amazing soprano.
[21] Sometime after dinner,before the winter sunset,it occurred to me that a true family is not always one's own ★ flesh and blood （注：血肉；骨肉。往往用来指儿女亲情）.It is a climate of the heart.Had it not been for our adopted son,we would not now be surrounded by caring strangers who would help us hear the music gagin.
[22] Later,our granddaughter asked us to come along with her."I'll drive,"she said,"There's a place I like to go."She jumped behind the wheel of the car and,with the confidence of a newly licensed driver,zoomed off （注：“突—突—突”地开走） toward the foothills.
[23] Alongside the headstone rested a small,heart-shaped rock,slightly cracked,painted by our artist daughter.On its weathered surface she had written"To my brother,with love."Across the crest of the grave lay a hollybright Christmas wreath.Our No.2 son,we learned,sent one every year.
[24] As we stood by the headstone in the chilly but somehow comforting silence,we were not prepared for our unpredictable granddaughter's next move.Once more that day her voice,so like her father's,lifted in song,and the mountainside echoed the chorus of "Joy to the World",on and on into infinity（注：无限；无穷。此处指天宇）.
[25] When the last pure note had faded,I felt,for the first time since our son's death,a sense of peace,of the positive continuity of life,of renewed faith and hope.The real meaning of Christmas had been restored to us.Hallelujah（注：哈利路亚，犹太教和基督教欢呼语，意为“赞美神”）！
小时候，圣诞节过得很平静，那时的我正处于成长阶段。我们家是典型的三口之家，只有父母亲及我。我发誓将来我要结婚并养六个孩子，过圣诞节时我的家里就会爱意盈盈、生气勃勃。
[2]我找到了与我有共同梦想的丈夫，但没料到我们没有生育能力。我们并未气馁，于是申请领养孩子。不到一年，他来到我们家中。
[3]我们叫他圣诞男孩，因为他是在那个喜庆的节日来到我们中间的，那时他生下来刚满六天。后来，造化弄人，再次令我们惊喜。我们自己竟很快为家里连续添了两个小宝宝——还没有我们希望的那么多，不过同我那平静的孩童时代相比，三个孩子是足以构成使人完全心满意足的小群体啦。
[4]随着圣诞男孩的长大，他清楚地向大家表明只有他才有本事选择和装饰一年一度的圣诞树。我们还未享受完感恩节的火鸡，他就开始列出礼物单，为圣诞节忙这忙那。他要求我们唱圣诞颂歌，我们沙哑的声音与他那具有音乐天赋的完美的音调构成鲜明的对比。每个假日，他都早早地把我们鼓动起来，带我们去看那一连串热闹非凡的场面。
[5]领养的孩子就是不一样，朋友们说得一点不错。我们的圣诞男孩凭着他独特的遗传基因，无拘无束、天真浪漫的性格和爱指挥人的风趣话语，使我们的生活多姿多彩。他使我们的面貌与举止都比以前好很多。
[6]然而，在他的第26个圣诞节那天，他永远离开了我们，就像他当初到来一样，走得是那样地出人意料。他在冰雪覆盖的丹佛大街丧生于车祸，当时他正在回家的途中，准备回到年轻的妻子和还在襁褓中的女儿身边。在此之前，他先在我们家装饰了圣诞树，这是他从未改变过的礼数。
[7]我和他父亲悲痛欲绝，变卖了那每间屋子都充满着记忆的家。我们丢下了朋友和教堂，移居加州。
[8]在他死后的17年，他的遗孀再嫁，女儿中学毕业。他父亲和我已到退休年龄，1986年12月我们决定回到丹佛。
[9]我们顶风冒雪，穿过灯火辉煌的大街，悄悄来到城里。我从流动的灯火中抬头远望，凝视着远处的落基山，我们的养子以前喜欢去那里寻找完美的圣诞树。现在山脚下是他的坟墓，我却不忍心去看一看。
[10]我们住进了一所四四方方的小房子，与以前我们生活极其和谐的家大相径庭。屋里非常安静，就像孩童时代的房子一样。我们的小儿子结婚后去了另一个州，开始过自己的圣诞节。我女儿是一个艺术家，好像对自己的职业颇为满足。
[11]一天，我正遥望着白雪皑皑的群山时，听到了停车声，接着是一阵急促的门铃声。门口站着我们的孙女，我从她蓝灰的眼睛和毫不拘束咧着嘴的笑容里，看到了她的父亲——我们的圣诞男孩的影子。
[12]她身后是她的母亲和继父，还有10岁的同母异父的弟弟，拖着一棵大松树。他们一阵风似地向我们走来，发出阵阵笑声；他们打开酒为我们的归来干杯。接着，他们用饰物把那棵松树装扮起来，并把包装亮丽的礼品堆放在树下。
[13]“你们会认识这些饰物的，”我以前的儿媳说。“它们都是他的。我替你们留着的。”
[14]我一下陷入了痛苦的回忆中，喃喃自语我们已经有17年没有圣诞树了，这时，心直口快的孙女说：“那么该准备就绪了吧！”
[15]他们你推我挤地走出门外，一阵风似地走了，但临走前没有忘记邀请我们第二天早晨一起去做礼拜并在他们家共进晚餐。
[16]“哦，”我开始说道，“我们不能去。”
[17]“你们一定要去，”孙女命令道，说话口气颇像她父亲，果断而不容丝毫辩解。“我要独唱，我想在那儿见到你们。”
[18]我们很久没去做过那令人心碎的圣诞礼拜了，但现在，在孙女的强求之下，我们坐在前排长凳上，一动不动，努力控制着泪水。
[19]这时，轮到独唱了。孙女高亢的嗓音响彻整个大厅，那么清晰，那么真切，音调完美。她唱的是《平安夜》，这首歌唤起了人们多少酸甜的回忆。教徒们从未如此动情过，他们兴奋地鼓掌以示回应。此刻她的父亲如果还活着该会何等高兴啊！
[20]我们一直不断地数着，想这儿会有一“大堆人”吃晚餐——但竟来了35个。各方亲戚满屋子都是；尤其是小孩子们兴高采烈，叽叽喳喳闹个不停，好像要越墙而过。我分不清谁是谁，不过这并不重要。他们都属于彼此。他们把我们领了进去，使我们融入了令人欣喜的暖意洋洋的气氛之中。我们大家用走了调的嗓子高声唱着圣诞颂歌，除了那动人心魄的女高音。
[21]晚饭后不久，冬日的太阳下山之前，我忽然想到：一个真正意义的家庭并不总是自己血肉相连的骨肉，它是彼此间的心灵相通，心灵契合。要不是我们的养子，我们周围现在就不会有这些充满关爱的陌生人，帮助我们再次听到这美妙的音乐。
[22]后来，孙女儿要我们跟她一起去。“我会开车，”她说，“有个地方我想去看看。”她跳上车，像一个刚领到驾照的驾驶员，颇有信心，“突—突—突”地向山下开去。
[23]墓碑旁边立着一块小石头，呈心形，有轻度裂痕，被我做艺术家的女儿漆过。在那块风吹日晒的石板上，她写下了“致吾兄，最诚挚的爱”。墓顶跨放着一个冬青做的闪亮的圣诞花环。我们知道，二儿子每年都要送去一个。
[24]我们站在墓碑旁，周围静寂得那么清冷，而又让人感到某种安慰。做事让人无法预测的孙女下一步到底会做什么，我们没有任何准备。那天，她提着嗓门再次高歌，她的嗓音如此像她父亲的，山腹回荡着《到极乐世界去》的歌声，那歌声飘呀飘，飘向无垠的天宇。
[25]当最后一个清纯的音符飘向辽远时，自儿子去世以来，我第一次感到心中如此平和，生命是如此积极向上，信念和希望也得以恢复。我们再次体会到了圣诞的真正内涵。哈利路亚！
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