Today, my dad is the best dad I could ask for.

今天，我的爸爸是我能拥有的最好的爸爸。

He’s a loving husband to my mom (always making her laugh), he’s been to every one of my soccer games since I was 5 (I’m 17 now), and he provides for our family as a construction foreman.

他是个疼爱老婆的好丈夫，总是逗她笑。从我5岁起，我的每一场足球比赛，他都去观战（我现在17岁了）。他是个建筑工头，支撑着我们一家的生活。

This morning when I was searching through my dad’s toolbox for a pliers, I found a dirty folded up paper at the bottom. It was an old journal entry in my dad’s handwriting dated exactly one month before the day I was born.

今天早上我在爸爸的工具箱里找钳子，在箱底翻到了一张脏兮兮的折起来的纸。那是一篇旧日记，是爸爸的字迹，日期正是我出生的一个月前。

It reads, “I am eighteen years old, an alcoholic who is failing out of college, a past cutter, and a child abuse victim with a criminal record of auto theft. And next month, ‘teen father’ will be added to the list. But I swear I will make things right for my little girl. I will be the dad I never had.”

纸上写着：“我18岁了，是一个辍学的酗酒者，一个曾经自残过的人，一个有汽车偷盗记录的虐童受害者。而下个月，我的身份又多一个——未成年父亲。但我发誓，我一定要为了我的小女儿让一切变好。我要成为那种自己从未拥有过的父亲。”

And I don’t know how he did it, but he did it.

我不知道他是如何做的，但他做到了。

My 88-year-old grandmother and her 17 year old cat are both blind. My grandmother’s guide dog leads my grandmother around the house, which is normal. But lately, he’s been guiding her cat around the house too. 

我88岁的祖母和她17岁的老猫都失明了。祖母的导盲犬会引导她在房子里完成起居活动，这很正常。但最近，它竟然还帮助起祖母的猫来。

When her cat meows, he walks up and rubs against her, and then she follows directly behind him to her food, to the litter box, to the other end of the house for a nap, etc.

当猫喵喵叫时，导盲犬就走过来轻轻蹭蹭她，带她去吃东西、去小盒子（上厕所），到房子的另一边小憩一会，等等。

Today, I chose the wrong number and accidentally sent my dad a message saying “I love you,“ which was meant for my husband. A few minutes later I got a reply: ”I love you too. Dad." It was so touching. We say things like that to each other so rarely.

今天，我不小心把准备发给老公的一条“我爱你”发给了老爸。几分钟后，我收到了回复：“爸爸也爱你。”一条简单的短信令我很感动。这样的话我们很少说给对方听。

I worked as a consultant on how to raise children for 15 years. Later I ran into one of the kids I’d previously worked with. He’d been a difficult child, always getting upset and angry at life.

我做了15年的儿童养育顾问。有一次，我偶然碰到了之前来咨询的一个孩子。他当时真是很难对付，总是对生活感到沮丧和愤怒。

One time, I drew him a picture of Superman and wrote a message about how superheroes never give up and always win in the end. That little boy is now a fireman, and he saves people’s lives. We chatted for about half an hour, and before parting he opened his wallet and showed me the picture of Superman that he’d kept all this time.

有一次，我给他画了一张超人的漫画，在背面写下了一小段话，告诉他超级英雄如何持之以恒，最终获得胜利。这个男孩现在是一名救死扶伤的消防员。我们聊了大约有半个小时。在分开前，他打开钱包，给我看之前画给他的那幅超人漫画，他一直保存着。

Recently, I dropped into a secondhand bookstore and bought a copy of the book that was stolen from me when I was a kid. I was so surprised when I opened it and found it was the very same stolen book.

最近，我在一个二手书店买了一本小时候被偷的书。令我惊讶的是，当我打开这本书才发现，这就是我丢的那本书。

The first page had my name on it and my grandfather’s message that he had written when he gave it to me. He had written, "I really hope that many years later this book will once again fall into your hands, and you’ll read it again."

书的扉页有我的名字和祖父当时的寄语：我真切地希望，多年以后，你能再次拿到这本书，重读一遍。

Today, my 12-year-old son, Sean, and I stopped by the nursing home together for the first time in several months. Usually I come alone see my mother who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s. When we walked into the lobby, the nurse said, “Hi, Sean!” and then buzzed us in. “How does she know your name?” I asked. “Oh, I swing by here on my walk home from school all the time to say hi to Grandma,” Sean said. I had no idea.

今天是我几个月来第一次带着12岁的儿子肖恩一起到养老院看我母亲，她患有老年痴呆症，通常我都是自己一个人来。当我们走进过道，护士问候道，“你好，肖恩！”然后把我们领了进去。我问肖恩，“她怎么会知道你的名字？”他答道，“每次放学回家的路上，我都会来这儿跟祖母问个好。”这些我都不知道。

Today, my mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. My best friend lives 2000 miles away and called to comfort me.

今天，母亲在与癌症抗争多年后，去世了。我最好的朋友——住在距我2000英里（3000多公里）之外——打电话来安慰我。

While on the phone, he asked, “What would you do if I showed up at your house and gave you the biggest hug in the world?” “I would surely smile,” I replied. And then he rang my doorbell.

他问我：“如果我出现在你家门口，给你一个大大的拥抱，你会怎么样？”“我一定会笑的。”我回答说。紧接着，门铃响了。