评论
打印
But as her space and mobility dwindled, so did her control over her life.
但是随着她生活空间的缩小和行动能力的下降，她控制生活的能力也下降了。
I looked at my grandmother again, sitting so alone before me, hair totally gray, limbs and joints swollen by arthritis, at the hearing aid that could no longer help her hear, and the glasses too thick but so inadequate in helping to see... and yet there was such dignity about her. A dignity I could not understand.
我再一次注视着孤独地坐在我面前的祖母，头发已经完全花白了，由于关节炎，她的四肢和关节也变得肿胀，助听器也已对她没什么作用了，镜片尽管已经足够厚，但她仍无法看清东西……然而在她身上仍有一种尊严，一种我无法理解的尊严。
The next day, after my grandmother had been taken back to the nursing home and my mother was picking up in her room, she found a small scrap of paper my grandmother had scribbled these words on:
第二天，祖母被送回疗养院后，母亲在整理房间时，发现了祖母随笔写的一张小纸片：
It is 1:30 tonight and I had to get up and go to the bathroom. I cannot go back to sleep. But I looked in on Margaret and she is sleeping so good, and Patsy is sleeping too.
“现在是晚上一点半了，我得起床上厕所，我无法再入睡，我看了一下玛格丽特，她睡得很香，帕齐也在熟睡着。”
With that note, I finally understood, and my 89-year-old bag-lady grandmother changed from an almost helpless invalid to a courageous, caring individual still very much in control of her environment.
看着这张纸片，我终于明白了，我那89岁的祖母，一位“提包女士”，由一个无助的病弱者变成了一位勇敢的、关爱别人的人，她仍然可以很好地把控自己所处的环境。
What intense loneliness she must have felt as she scribbled that small note on that small piece of paper with the small bag on her walker and her small purse next to her. Yet she chose to experience it alone rather than wake either of us from much-needed sleep. Out of her own great need, she chose to meet our needs.
当她在那张小纸片上写下这些话时，助步车上挂着她的提包，身边放着她的小提袋，那时的她该是多么孤独啊丨但她仍选择了独自承受，而不是把我们中的任何一个从熟睡中叫醒。祖母舍弃自己的需求，她选择满足我们的需求。
As I held that tiny note, and cried inside, I wondered if she dreamed of younger years and more treasured possessions and a bigger world when she went back to sleep that night. I certainly hoped so.
我握着这张小纸片，悲由心生。我不知道那晚祖母随后入睡时，是否会梦到自己的年轻时代，或者梦到自己拥有更多的财富，梦到一个更广阔的世界，我真心希望她梦到了。
