有一種愛，偉大而平凡，如潤物春雨，似拂面和風;有一份情，無私而博大，綿綿不斷，情誼深長。這便是母愛，卑微如青苔， 莊嚴如晨曦， 無私付出，不求回報。母親的年輪，記載著兒女人生的軌跡;母親的四季，牽掛著兒女在外的冷暖。禮物誠可貴，母愛價更高。

The first time my mother made leg of lamb, she never connected the two events. The second time, she thought it was a coincidence . The third time, she knew it was a curse . Every time she prepared leg of lamb, my father was laid off a few days later. The first time it was for a few weeks; the second time for a few months; the third time for more than a year.

My father had a union job at a film-processing lab, and layoffs — and eventual rehirings — were common during the 1960s. He was laid off a few more times, but never after eating leg of lamb. My mother never served the dish again.

My father handled the layoffs with equanimity . He was an infantryman during the Battle of the Bulge and had vowed then that if he survived the war, he’d never let anything bother him again. He would enjoy and savor every day. And he did.

My mother, however, managed the family’s finances, and each layoff was extremely stressful . She worked, but money was tight as she struggled to pay the rent and the other bills until my dad was rehired. She always managed to shield my sister and me from the financial difficulties, and we never knew the extent of her worries.

But one spring, when I was 10, during one of my father’s layoffs, I could tell my mother was dispirited . I decided that I would cheer her up by buying her a special Mother’s Day gift.

My sister had a friend whose mother owned an exclusive boutique , the Agins, near San Vicente and 6th Street. Actresses, including Ann-Margret and Yvette Mimieux, and wealthy women from Beverly Hills shopped at the store, which was known for its high-end fashions and style. One woman flew in from Mexico City every year to make purchases. My mother, who couldn’t afford to shop there, occasionally mentioned the store in tones of awe and reverence.

One day after school I rode my bike to the Agins. I introduced myself to Sylvia Agins and told her I was looking for a Mother’s Day present.

I remember that she didn’t condescend or talk down to me. She treated me like a valued customer. She asked me what my mother would like. I told her I wasn’t sure. She strolled around the store for a few minutes, lost in thought.

“Do you think she’d like a purse? ” she asked.

I told her I thought she might.

After wandering to the back of the store, she returned with a box. She opened it, revealing a beige Italian handbag made of supple leather. She asked me what I thought, and I told her that my mom would like it.

“How much money do you have?” she asked.

“Twelve bucks ,” I said.

“You’re in luck, ” she told me. “It’s only $11. You have a dollar left over for the card. ”

She gift-wrapped the purse and thanked me for my business, and I rode off on my bike with the package under my arm.

When my mother opened the gift the next Sunday morning, she stammered in an accusatory tone, “Where did you get this?”

“I bought it at the Agins,” I said.

My mother was stunned into silence.

It wasn’t until many years later, when I learned that the purse was worth several hundred dollars, that I appreciated just how wonderful Sylvia Agins had been to me. I always felt bad that I never had a chance to properly thank her. Recently, I met someone at a party who knew her daughter, Roberta, and passed along her phone number. I decided to call Roberta, who told me her mother died 22 years ago.

When I told her the Mother’s Day story, she paused for a long time.

“That just takes my breath away ,” she said. “She wasn’t the kind of person who wanted credit for the things she did. She was so gracious and giving and loving . That little story exactly captures my mother’s essence. ”

My mother, who carried the purse for many years until it was beyond repair, is now 90. She says she can still recall every detail about the purse: the rich texture of the leather, the color, the gleaming brass clasp and trim.

“You know what really amazes me to this day,” my mother said. “Letting you have the purse for just a few dollars was incredible enough. But the fact that she let you leave the store with a dollar for the card was a touch of kindness that I’ll never forget. ”

詞匯:

coincidence: 巧合。

curse: 詛咒。

be laid off: 下崗，被解雇。

film-processing: 膠片處理;layoff: 解雇，裁員;rehiring: 回聘，重新聘用(已經解雇的員工)。

equanimity: 鎮定，沉著。

infantryman: 步兵;Battle of the Bulge：突出部之役，又稱阿登戰役或亞爾丁之役，發生于1944年12月16日到1945年1月25日，是指納粹德國于二戰末期在歐洲西線戰場比利時瓦隆的阿登地區發動的攻勢。這場戰役使德軍損失慘重,再無后備力量可以補充，在西線也再無力阻擋盟軍的前進，因此被后人稱為歷史的轉折;vow: 發誓;survive: 幸存下來，死里逃生;bother: 煩惱，打擾，使不安。

savor: 盡情享受。

finances: 財產，財務;extremely: 非常，極其;stressful: 有壓力的。

她總是盡力不讓我和姐姐為家里的經濟情況擔心，而我們也從不知道她為此有多么的憂慮。shield from: 庇護使免遭(不幸的事)。

dispirited: 沮喪的。

exclusive boutique: 高檔精品店。

這家店以其高端時尚的款式和風格聞名，因此包括安?瑪格麗特和伊薇特?米米亞克斯在內的女演員，以及居住在比福利山莊的貴婦們都會來這里購物。Ann-Margret：安?瑪格麗特，美國電影女演員、歌唱家、舞蹈家;Yvette Mimieux：伊薇特?米米亞克斯，好萊塢影星;Beverly Hills：比弗利山莊，有“全世界最尊貴住宅區”稱號，是洛杉磯市內最有名的城中城，這里不但有著全球最高檔的商業街，還云集了眾多好萊塢影星們的豪宅，是世界影壇的圣地。

Mexico City: 墨西哥城，墨西哥首都。

in tones of: 以…的語氣;awe: 敬畏;reverence: 崇敬。

condescend: 屈尊，擺出高人一等的架子;talk down to: 輕視地(對人)說話，用高人一等的語氣說話。

stroll around: 閑逛，漫步;lost in thought: 陷入沉思。

reveal: 展示，顯示;beige: 米黃色，淡棕色;supple leather: 軟皮革。

buck: 美元，相當于dollar，但dollar更正式。

gift-wrap: 將…包裝成禮物，用包裝紙包裝。

stammer: 結結巴巴地說;accusatory: 指責的，責問的。

stunned: 震驚的，驚呆的。

take one’s breath away: 使大吃一驚

credit: 贊揚。

gracious: 親切的，高尚的;giving: 寬容，樂于付出;loving: 慈愛的，充滿愛心的。

這個小故事恰好彰顯了我母親的這些品質。capture: 抓住;essence: 本質，精髓。

她說她仍能憶起那只手袋的每一處細節：那細膩的紋理，皮革的顏色，發亮的黃銅扣以及整齊的鑲邊。texture: 紋理，質地;gleaming: 閃閃發亮的; brass: 黃銅; clasp: 扣子，鉤子;trim: 鑲邊。

incredible: 難以置信的。

（兼職編輯：張博）