Dear God，

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.

如今我不再年轻，一些朋友的母亲已经去世。我曾听这些子女们说过，他们从没有向母亲充分表达过他们的感激之情，而待到要告诉时为时已晚了。

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.

幸运的是，我亲爱的母亲依然健在。我对她的感情与日俱增。母亲没有变，而我却变了。随着年岁的增长，我越来越懂事了，我认识道她是个非常了不起的人。这些话在她面前我难以启齿，但在笔下却可以轻易地写出来，这令我感到多么难过。

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?

一个女儿该怎样开口感谢她的母亲所给予的生命？感谢她在抚养孩子时所付出的爱、耐心以及无私的辛勤劳动？感谢她跟在蹒跚学步的孩子身后奔跑，对情绪不定的少女的理解，以及对一个自以为是的大学生的宽容？感谢她等待女儿认识到她真实一位好母亲的这一天？

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?

一个成年女子该怎样感谢母亲依然如故的角色？感谢在被问到时她会及时提供良言，而在不需要时她会保持沉默？感谢她没有说：“我告诉过你，”而她本来可以说上许多次？感谢她始终不变的爱心、体贴周到、耐心与宽容厚道？

I 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.

我不知道该怎样来表达，亲爱的上帝，除了请求你好好地保佑她——那时她该得到的——并帮助我朝她作出的榜样看齐。我祈愿在孩子的眼里我会如同母亲在我眼里一般好。

A daughter
一个女儿

Today we have higher buildings and wider highways, but shorter temperaments and narrower points of view;
今天我们拥有了更高层的楼宇以及更宽阔的公路，但是我们的性情却更为急躁，眼光也更加狭隘；

We spend more, but enjoy less;
我们消耗的更多，享受到的却更少；

We have bigger houses, but smaller famillies;
我们的住房更大了，但我们的家庭却更小了；

We have more compromises, but less time;
我们妥协更多，时间更少；

We have more knowledge, but less judgment;
我们拥有了更多的知识，可判断力却更差了；

We have more medicines, but less health;
我们有了更多的药品，但健康状况却更不如意；

We have multiplied out possessions, but reduced out values;
我们拥有的财富倍增，但其价值却减少了；

We talk much, we love only a little, and we hate too much;
我们说的多了，爱的却少了，我们的仇恨也更多了；

We reached the Moon and came back, but we find it troublesome to cross our own street and meet our neighbors;
我们可以往返月球，但却难以迈出一步去亲近我们的左邻右舍；

We have conquered the uter space, but not our inner space;
我们可以征服外太空，却征服不了我们的内心；

We have highter income, but less morals;
我们的收入增加了，但我们的道德却少了；

These are times with more liberty, but less joy;
我们的时代更加自由了，但我们拥有的快乐时光却越来越少；

We have much more food, but less nutrition;
我们有了更多的食物，但所能得到的营养却越来越少了；

These are the days in which it takes two salaries for each home, but divorces increase;
现在每个家庭都可以有双份收入，但离婚的现象越来越多了；

These are times of finer houses, but more broken homes;
现在的住房越来越精致，但我们也有了更多破碎的家庭；

That's why I propose, that as of today;
这就是我为什么要说，让我们从今天开始；

You do not keep anything for a special occasion. because every day that you live is a SPECIAL OCCASION.
不要将你的东西为了某一个特别的时刻而预留着，因为你生活的每一天都是那么特别；

Search for knowledge, read more , sit on your porch and admire the view without paying attention to your needs;
寻找更我的知识，多读一些书，坐在你家的前廊里，以赞美的眼光去享受眼前的风景，不要带上任何功利的想法；

Spend more time with your family and friends, eat your favorite foods, visit the places you love;
花多点时间和朋友与家人在一起，吃你爱吃的食物，去你想去的地方；

Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment; not only about survival;
生活是一串串的快乐时光；我们不仅仅是为了生存而生存；

Use your crystal goblets. Do not save your best perfume, and use it every time you feel you want it.
举起你的水晶酒杯吧。不要吝啬洒上你最好的香水，你想用的时候就享用吧！

Remove from your vocabulary phrases like"one of these days"or "someday";
从你的词汇库中移去所谓的“有那么一天”或者“某一天”；

Let's write that letter we thought of writing "one of these days"!
曾打算“有那么一天”去写的信，就在今天吧！

Let's tell our families and friends how much we love them;
告诉家人和朋友，我们是多么地爱他们；

Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life;
不要延迟任何可以给你的生活带来欢笑与快乐的事情；

Every day, every hour, and every minute is special;
每一天、每一小时、每一分钟都是那么特别；

And you don't know if it will be your last.
你无从知道这是否最后刻。