原文: Prayer for my mother

Now that I am no longer young， I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them.

I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her more each day. My mother does not change， but I do. As I grow older and wiser， I realize what an extraordinary person she is. How sad that I am unable to speak these words in her presence， but they flow easily from my pen.

How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love， patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler， for understanding a moody teenager， for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the day when a daughter realizes her mother really is?

How does a grown woman thank for a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice(when asked ) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? For not saying:”I told you so”， when she could have uttered these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself—loving， thoughtful， patient， and forgiving?

don’t know how， dear God， except to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.

译文: 为母亲祈祷

      我已不再年轻,身边一些朋友的母亲已经过世。我听这些儿女说他们总是没能及时地向他们的母亲表达过感激之情，想告诉时已为时太晚了。

      很庆幸，我亲爱的母亲还健在，我对她的感激与日俱增。母亲没有变，但我变了。随着我年龄和心智的成长，我意识到她是多么优秀的一个人，我是多么地难过，因为这些话在她面前难以起齿，在我的笔下却行云流水。

      女儿如何感谢母亲呢？为她赐予我们生命本身，因她为养育孩子付出的爱，耐心和平凡艰难的劳动，为她在蹒跚学步的孩童后面奔跑，为她理解我们青春期的喜怒无常，为她宽容我们上大学时的自以为是，为她默默等待女儿有一天能真正理解她。

      当一个成年女人应该如何感激母亲依然如故的角色？为她总能在问及时提供建议，为她不求回报的沉默，如何感激母亲默默无闻地教诲着我们,她从不对我们说“是我教你这样做的”，而实际上她有权利这样说上几十次，为母亲一直以来的慈爱，体贴，耐心和宽容？


      亲爱的上帝，我不知道该怎样表达，只有尽可能地为她祈祷，这是她该得的，以她为榜样好好生活。祈祷在我的孩子们眼里我是一个好母亲，就像我的母亲之于我是一个好母亲一样。