瑪裏琳·邁爾斯·斯拉德/Marilyn Myers Slade
When my husband and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversarg at our favorite restaurant,Lenny,the piano player,asked,“How did you do it?”
I knew there was no simple answer,but as the weekend approached,I wondered if one reason might be our ritual of breakfast in bed every Saturday and Sunday.
It all started with the breakfast tray my mother gave us as a wedding gift.It had a glass top and slatted wooden side pockets for the morning paper-the kind you used to see in the movies.Mother loved her movies,and although she rarely had breakfast in bed,she held high hopes for her daughter.My adoring bridegroom took the message to heart.
Feeling guilty,I suggested we take turns.Despite grumblings-“hate crumbs in my bed”-Sunday morning found my spouse eagerly awaiting his tray.Soon these weekend breakfasts became such a part of our lives that I never even thought about them.I only knew we treasured this separate,blissful time read,relax,forget the things we should remember.
Sifting through the years,I recalled how our weekends changed,but that we still preserved the ritual.We started our family（as new parents,we slept after breakfast more than we read），but we always found our way back to where we started,just two for breakfast,one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
When we had more time,my tray became more festive.First it was fruit slices placed in geometric pattern;then came flowers from our garden-sometimes just one blossom sprouting from a grapefruit half.This arranger of mine had developed a flair for decorating,using everything from amaryllis to the buds of a maple tree.My husband said my cooking inspired him.Mother would have approved.Perhaps it was the Saturday when the big strawberry wore a daisy hat that I began to think,how can I top this?One dark winter night I woke with a vision of a snowman on a tray.That Sunday I scooped a handful of snow and in no time had my man made.With a flourish I put a miniature pinecone on his head.
As I delivered the tray,complete with a nicely frozen snowman,I waited for a reaction.There was none-but as I headed down the stairs I heard a whoop of laughter and then,“You’ve won!Yes,sir,you’ve won the prize!”
我和丈夫在我們最喜歡的一家餐館裏慶祝結婚38周年時，鋼琴手萊尼走過來問道：“你們是如何讓自己的婚姻曆久彌新的呢？”
我知道，這個問題，隻言片語是說不清楚的。然而，快到周末時，我開始思考這個問題，我想，或許其中一個原因就是，每逢周末，我們都在**吃早餐。
我們結婚時，母親送了我們一個早餐托盤作為結婚禮物。於是，我們周末在**吃早餐的習慣由此開始了。盤麵是玻璃做的，盤子兩側各有一個細長的木製側袋，用來放晨報——就是過去常在電影中見到的那種。母親很喜歡她那個時代的電影，雖然她很少在**用早餐，卻很希望女兒這樣。深愛著我的新郎把母親的這番話記在了心裏。
婚後，一直都是丈夫準備早餐。我有些不好意思了，於是，我提議輪流準備早餐。雖然丈夫嘴上抱怨——“我討厭**有飯渣”——但我還是發現，每當星期天早上，他總是在**急切地等著他的早餐。不久，這種周末早餐就成了我們生活的一部分，我也習以為常起來。我隻知道，我們都很珍視這段有別於其它幸福時刻的時光——看看報、放鬆放鬆，暫時忘卻其他雜事。
回想這些年來，我發現，我們的周末生活已經大變樣，但這個老習慣卻保留了下來。後來，我們有了小孩（初為父母時，早餐後，我們睡覺的時間遠遠多於看報的時間），但我們總能恢複之前的生活習慣——兩個人的早餐，星期六一次，星期天一次。
當我們有更多的時間時，早餐托盤上的內容就變得富於喜慶色彩。最初隻是以幾何形狀排列的水果片，後來就是從自家花園采摘的鮮花了——有時隻采一朵，然後把它放在半個葡萄柚中。沒想到這竟發展了我在裝飾、點綴方麵的天賦。不論什麽東西，孤挺花也好，楓樹的葉芽也罷，都成了我的裝飾材料。丈夫說我做的早餐給他帶來了許多靈感，我想，母親也會讚同他的說法的。在那個星期六，當我看到丈夫將雛菊像帽子一樣放在一個大草莓上時，我就想：我怎麽才能超過他的這一創意呢？一個漆黑的冬夜，我從夢中醒來，眼前仿佛看到一個雪人站在托盤上。就在那個星期天，我鏟來了一捧雪，並立刻做好了一個雪人。興奮中，我一揮手把一枚小鬆果按在雪人頭上了。
我把早餐端給丈夫，盤麵上放著那個凍結實的小雪人。我等待著他的反應，但他一點反應也沒有——而就在我下樓時，我聽到他放聲大笑起來，接著說道：“你贏了！這個獎非你莫屬了！”
心靈小語
愛貴在持之以恒。
詞匯筆記
despite[dispait]prep.不管；盡管；任憑
Despite the fact that she is short,she is an excellent
basketball player.
盡管她個子矮，卻是個出色的籃球運動員。
blissful[blisful]adj.充滿喜悅的
Last summer,I had a blissful stay in Suzhou.
去年夏天，我在蘇州有過快樂的停留。
Inspire[inspai?]v.賦予某人靈感；啟迪
You inspired me by playing the piano so beautifully.
你彈奏的優美的鋼琴曲激發了我的靈感。
whoop[hu:p]n.大叫；呐喊
When the land was seen,the sailor let out a whoop of joy.
當看見陸地時，水手發出一聲歡呼。
小試身手
我們都很珍視這段有別於其它幸福時刻的時光。
一個漆黑的冬夜，我從夢中醒來，眼前彷佛看到一個雪人站在托盤上。
短語家族
It had a glass top and slatted wooden side pockets for the morning paper-the kind you used to see in the movies.
Used to：曾經
Sifting through the years,I recalled how our weekends changed,but that we still preserved the rirual.
Sift through：被篩下；通過