Moms Are Like That母親的心

by Sallie A.Rodman

烏蕪 譯

Moms Are Like That母親的心

Track 4

by Sallie A.Rodman

烏蕪 譯

都說婆婆與媳婦是天敵，因為她們都在爭奪著同一個男人。婆婆的諸多挑剔與百般刁難常常是惡劣婆媳關系的開端，然而當母親的總是希望自己孩子能夠得到最好的一切，這或許就是婆婆為難媳婦的原因吧，當媳婦理解到了這一點，或許就能做到多一分理解，多一分寬容，因為媳婦通常還有著另一個身份一一母親!

My sweetheart Paul and I had1)elopedto2)Yuma3)on a whim.It was the most romantic and thrilling weekend of my life.Leaving town was easy but coming back on Sunday night to face our parents was hard.We had a huge wedding planned for the following September—but this was May, and Paul was home on his frst leave from the Marine Reserves4)boot camp.

Paul’s parents joined us at my parents’ house the evening we returned.We hoped this would be a happy meeting of our newly merged families.

Seated around the living room, Paul’s mother was the frst to speak.

“I don’t think Paul and Sallie should stay married! They are too young.How will he support a wife? Where will they live? We need to get this marriage5)annulled!” my mother-in-law shouted to the family members assembled at my parents’ house.

我和愛人保羅心血來潮，逃到了尤馬。那是我人生中最浪漫、最刺激的一個周末。離開我們的城市很容易，但要在星期天回來面對我們的父母卻很困難。到了九月的時候，我們計劃舉辦一場盛大的婚禮，但現在才五月，這是保羅第一次從海洋自然保護區的新兵訓練營那里回來。

我們回來的那個晚上，保羅的父母過來和我父母見面。我們希望這新結成的一家能愉快會面。

在客廳坐下后，保羅的母親第一個開口說話了。

“我認為保羅和薩莉就不應該結婚！他們太年輕了。他怎么養得起一個妻子？他們要住哪里？我們應該解除這段婚姻關系。我婆婆對聚在我父母房子里的家人大喊道。

BAM! My father had let her rant for several minutes before his fst hit the coffee table with a loud slap.“If these kids want to stay married, then by God they’re gonna stay married,” he yelled back.

He turned to Paul.“Do you want to stay married?”Turning to me, he said, “Sallie, do you want to stay married?”We both nodded yes, our eyes wide at all this drama.

“Then they can live with us until Paul gets home permanently,” my dad said in a calmer tone.Case closed!

Mrs.Rodman had been6)thwartingme at every turn, trying to postpone the wedding plans.She even went so far as to tell Paul we were too young and we were from two different classes and he needed to marry a college graduate.On and on the objections went.

Sure, I was only nineteen and had one year of college.But we were both from middle-class families, although I admit I probably had a few more material advantages since Paul came from a family of eleven.

We did stay married, but to7)appeasehis mother we lived apart one week until we could be married in our church.After Paul’s basic training as a8)reservistwas over, he went back to his job.

My new mother-in-law didn’t come around much since Paul’s father was ill.They had a family tragedy and their house burned down.She was working and running in so many directions.

Meanwhile our family had grown, with a son and then a daughter, one year apart.I hoped when things got back to normal we could talk.Perhaps I could win my mother-in-law over since I love her son so much and she adored him too.But that was not to be.

The entire chain of events came crashing down early one cold February morning three years into our marriage.I wrote a poem about it:

1 ) elope [?'l??p] v.私奔，出走

2 ) Yuma ['ju?m?] n.尤馬（美國亞利桑那州西南部一城市）

3 ) on a whim 心血來潮，一時興起

4 ) boot camp 海軍訓練新兵的營地

5 ) annul [?'n?l] v.廢除，取消

6 ) thwart [θw??t] v.反對，阻礙

7 ) appease [?'p??z] vt.平息，安撫

8 ) reservist [r?'z??v?st] n.預備役軍人

砰！在她咆哮了幾分鐘后，我爸爸一拳砸在咖啡桌上，發出響亮的一聲。“如果這兩個孩子想要結婚，那么就是上帝的旨意，他們就該保持這段婚姻關系，”他吼回去。

他對保羅說，“你想要結婚嗎？……