几天后，妈妈由于严重的心脏病发作去世了。发生的如此突然以至我没有机会为她做任何事。那一刻，我明白了及时说出“我爱你”以及给予我们所爱的人他们应该得到的时间的重要性。生命中没有什么比你的家庭更重要。多花些时间陪陪你的家人，因为这些事情不能被推迟到“改天”。
Never Regret
Time is running out for my friend.While we are sitting at lunch she casually mentions she and her husband are thinking of starting a family.“We’re taking a survey，”she says，half-joking.“Do you think I should have a baby？”
“It will change your life，”I say，carefully keeping my tone neutral.“I know，”she says，“no more sleeping in on weekends，no more spontaneous holidays...”
But that’s not what I mean at all.I look at my friend，trying to decide what to tell her.I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal，but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be vulnerable forever.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without thinking：“What if that had been my child？”That every plane crash，every house fire will haunt her.That when she sees pictures of starving children，she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is，becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.
I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career，she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.She might arrange for child care，but one day she will be going into an important business meeting，and she will think of her baby’s sweet smell.She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home，just to make sure her child is all right.
I want my friend to know that every decision will no longer be routine.That a five-year-old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather than the women’s at a restaurant will become a major dilemma.The issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the lavatory.However decisive she may be at the office，she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive friend，I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the added weight of pregnancy，but she will never feel the same about herself.That her own life，now so important，will be of less value to her once she has a child.She would give it up in a moment to save her offspring，but will also begin to hope for more years-not to accomplish her own dreams-but to watch her children accomplish theirs.
I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to hit a ball.I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time.I want her to taste the joy that is so real it hurts.
My friend’s look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.“You’ll never regret it.”I say finally.Then，squeezing my friend’s hand，I offer a prayer for her and me and all of the mere mortal women who stumbling their way into this holiest of callings.
永不后悔
时光任苒，朋友已经老大不小了。我们坐在一起吃饭的时候，她漫不经心地提到她和她的丈夫正考虑要小孩。“我们正在做一项调查，”她半开玩笑地说。“你觉得我应该要个小孩吗？”
“他将改变你的生活。”我小心翼翼地说道，尽量使语气保持客观。“这我知道。”她答道，“周末睡不成懒觉，再也不能随心所欲休假了……”
但我说的绝非这些。我注视着朋友，试图整理一下自己的思绪。我想让她知道她永远不可能在分娩课上学到的东西。我想让她知道：分娩的有形伤疤可以愈合，但是做母亲的情感伤痕却永远如新，她会因此变得十分脆弱。
我想告诫她：做了母亲后，每当她看报纸时就会情不自禁地联想：“如果那件事情发生在我的孩子身上将会怎样啊！”每一次飞机失事、每一场住宅火灾都会让她提心吊胆。看到那些忍饥挨饿的孩子们的照片时，她会思索：世界上还有什么比眼睁睁地看着自己的孩子饿死更惨的事情呢？我打量着她精修细剪的指甲和时尚前卫的衣服，心里想到：不管她打扮多么考究，做了母亲后，她会变得像护崽的母熊那样原始而不修边幅。
我觉得自己应该提醒她：不管她在工作上投入了多少年，一旦做了母亲，工作就会脱离常规。她自然可以安排他人照顾孩子，但说不定哪天她要去参加一个非常重要的商务会议，却忍不住想起宝宝身上散发的甜甜乳香。她不得不拼命克制自己，才不至于为了看看孩子是否安然无恙而中途回家。
我想告诉朋友，有了孩子后，她将再也不能按照惯例做出决定。在餐馆，5岁的儿子想进男厕而不愿进女厕将成为摆在她眼前的一大难题，她将在两个选择之间权衡一番：尊重孩子的独立和性别意识，还是让他进男厕所冒险被潜在的儿童性骚扰者侵害？任凭她在办公室多么果断，作为母亲，她仍经常事后后悔自己当时的决定。
注视着我的这位漂亮的朋友，我想让她明确地知道：她最终会恢复到怀孕前的体重，但是她对自己的感觉已然不同。她现在视为如此重要的生命将随着孩子的诞生而变得不那么宝贵。为了救自己的孩子，她时刻愿意献出自己的生命。但她也开始希望多活一些年头，不是为了实现自己的梦想，而是为了看着孩子们美梦成真。
我想向朋友形容自己看到孩子学会击球时的喜悦之情。我想让她留意宝宝第一次触摸狗的绒毛时的捧腹大笑。我想让她品尝快乐，尽管这快乐真实得令人心痛。
朋友的表情让我意识到自己已经是热泪盈眶。“你永远不会后悔，”我最后说。然后紧紧地握住朋友的手，为她、为自己，也为每一位艰难跋涉、准备响应母亲职业神圣的召唤的平凡女性献上自己的祈祷。
God’s Ideal Arrangement
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born.So one day he asked God，“They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless？”
God replied，“Among the many angels，I chose one for you.She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”
But the child wasn’t sure he really wanted to go.“But tell me，here in Heaven，I don’t do anything else but sing and smile，that’s enough for me to be happy.”
“Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day.And you will feel your angel’s love and be happy.”
“And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me，”the child continued，“if I don’t know the language that men talk？”
God patted him on the head and said，“Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear，and with much patience and care，your angel will teach you how to speak.”
“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you？”
But God had an answer for that question too.“Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”
“I’ve heard that on earth there are bad men，who will protect me？”
“Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her life！”
“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore，”the child continued warily.
God smiled on the young one.“Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me，even though I will always be next to you.”
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven，but voices from earth could already be heard.The child knew he had to start on his journey very soon.He asked God one more question，softly，“Oh God，if I am about to leave now，please tell me my angel’s name.”
God touched the child on the shoulder and answered，“Your angel’s name is not hard to remember.You will simply call her Mommy.”
上帝的完美安排
从前，有个孩子马上就要诞生了。因此有一天他问上帝：“听说明天你就送我去人间了，但是，我这么弱小和无助，我在那儿怎么生活呢？”
上帝答道：“在众多的天使中，我特别为你挑了一位。她会守候你，无微不至地照顾你。”
小孩还是拿不准自己是否真的想去。“但是在天堂，我除了唱唱笑笑外，什么也不做。这就足以让我感到幸福了。”
