爸爸收礼物的态度 便是一份朴素而持久的礼物
小编 04-03 次遇见
15 Just What I've Always Wanted
No matter how humble the contents of a package, Dad always took care to appreciate the time and thought that went into selecting a store-bought gift or the skill that went into making one. When we were young and had no money to buy Dad gifts, we often relied on imagination to make up for a shortage of shopping funds. Dad beamed with pleasure upon opening a coin pouch made at summer camp, a note redeemable for washing and waxing his car, or a homemade card with a message of a prayer said in his honor.
不管我们送的包裹里的东西有多不起眼，爸爸总是注意表示赞赏，感谢我们在挑选和购买那些礼物时所花费的时间和心思，或者赞叹我们在制作礼物的过程中所用到的技能。我们小时候没钱给爸爸买礼物，经常要靠想象力来弥补购物资金的不足。那时，我们送给爸爸的东西有夏令营时自己做的零钱包，一张许诺为他洗车和给汽车上蜡的字条，或者一张写着祝他好运的自制卡片。爸爸收到这些东西时， 总是笑容满面。
But even when our buying power increased through money from odd jobs and baby-sitting, we sometimes ran short on imagination. Still, Dad made our bland gifts seem like dreams come true. When he opened a plain white shirt just like the ones he wore to work, he would appear delightfully jolted as if he'd never seen anything like it. He'd pull the shirt out of the bag reverently and comment on its features. "Oh, this is really nice," he'd say, pointing out the button-down collar or extra-long shirttail. Then he'd carefully remove the packaging and try it on. "It's exactly what I needed," he'd say several times in between praising the quality of workmanship and tidiness of the fabric. All the while, we watched, wallowing in the pleasure of pleasing Dad.
后来，尽管通过打零工和替别人看孩子我们的购买力有所增强，但有时我们却缺乏创意。即便如此，爸爸仍让我们觉得我们乏味的礼物是他梦寐以求的。当他打开一件和他穿着去上班的那些差不多一样的普通白衬衫时，他高兴的样子让你觉得他好像从来没有见过类似的东西似的。他会虔诚地将那件衬衫从袋子里取出来，评论一番。“噢，这个真不错。”他会指着缝有纽扣的领尖或者加长的衬衣下摆说。然后，他会小心翼翼地拆开包装并试穿。他一会儿赞扬其精细的做工，态度，即使是收到最普通的礼物的态度，是我们家里一份朴素而持久的礼物。虽然他已经不在了，但他的礼物依然活在我们的记忆中。
(By Susan Sarver)