◎ Ann Landers

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

A daughter

亲爱的上帝：

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。

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，我意识到她是多么了不起的人。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。

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，对喜怒无常的少女的理解，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是一位好母亲的一天？

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？

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——那是她该得到的——并帮助我朝她做出的榜样看齐。我祈祷，在孩子的眼里我会如同母亲在我眼里一般好。

一位女儿

Quotations About Mothers 解读母爱——关于母爱的名人名言

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

—Abraham Lincoln

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

—George Washington

There never was a woman like her. She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness... The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way.

—Andrew Jackson

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

—Jewish proverb

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

—Author Unknown

In all my efforts to learn to read, my mother shared fully my ambition and sympathized with me and aided me in every way she could. If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.

—Booker T. Washington

It seems to me that my mother was the most splendid woman I ever knew... I have met a lot of people knocking around the world since, but I have never met a more thoroughly refined woman than my mother. If I have amounted to anything, it will be due to her.

—Charles Chaplin

我所有的成就和一切的梦想，都应归功于我天使般的母亲。我记得母亲的那些祷告，它们一直伴随着我，而且已经陪伴了我一生。

——亚伯拉罕·林肯

我的母亲是我见过的最漂亮的女人。我所有的一切都归功于我的母亲。我一生中所有的成就都归功于我从她那儿得到的德、智、体的教育。

——乔治·华盛顿

从来没有个女人像她那样。她轻柔得像一只斑鸠；她勇敢得像一头母狮……毕竟，对母亲的记忆和她的教诲，是我人生起步的唯一资本，并奠定了我的人生之路。

——安德鲁·杰克逊

青春会逝去；爱情会枯萎；友谊的绿叶也会凋零。而一个母亲内心的希望，比它们都要长久。

——奥利弗·温戴尔·荷马

上帝不能无处不在，因此他创造了母亲。

——犹太谚语

母亲的心是一个深渊，在它的最深处，你总能找到宽恕。

——巴尔扎克

在我努力学习阅读的过程中，母亲一直分享着我的抱负、充分理解我，尽她所能帮助我。如果我一生中做了什么值得人们注意的事情，那一定是我继承了她的气质。

——布克·华盛顿

对我而言，我的母亲是我认识的最了不起的女人……我遇见太多太多的世人，可是从未遇上像我母亲那般更为透彻的优雅的女人。如果我有所成就的话，这都要归功于她。

——查尔斯·卓别林