又是一年寒假結(jié)束時(shí)，此刻的你們應(yīng)該都已經(jīng)返?；蛘咴诠旧习嗔?，度過了一個(gè)歡樂祥和的春節(jié)，你們是否也和本文主人公一樣，帶著些許疲憊，帶著些許感恩呢？不管怎么樣，過好每一天，愛身邊的人，像向日葵一樣快樂吧。

I believe that if youre the person in your family who arranged for and executed the celebration this past holiday season， well， youre probably still tired. You may be wondering why you spent so much on presents， why you had to have your house just right， why you had friends over for drinks when you were already weary and worn out. You may be thinking that youre getting too old for all of this or you may be thinking youre too young.

在剛剛過去的這個(gè)假期季節(jié)里，如果你是家里安排和舉辦假日慶?；顒?dòng)的那個(gè)人，那么，我相信或許現(xiàn)在的你還感覺很疲憊。你或許正疑惑，為什么你要在禮物上花費(fèi)那么多，為什么你要把家里裝扮得有節(jié)日氣氛，為什么你要在自己已經(jīng)很疲倦甚至是疲憊不堪的時(shí)候還邀請(qǐng)朋友來(lái)家里喝一杯。你或許正在想，自己已經(jīng)太老了，不適合再舉辦這些活動(dòng)；又或者你認(rèn)為自己還太年輕。

If you know what Im talking about， youre probably your familys Designated Celebrator—that is， the one who sees to it that a holiday actually happens in the lives of your loved ones.

After New Years， I was sitting at the breakfast table in a 1）stupor. My husband asked if I was all right.

“Im exhausted，” I answered. “Im totally exhausted.”

He looked puzzled. “Why do you do this to yourself every year？”

I have to admit that part of what I do around the winter holidays seems almost 2）involuntary， innate. Its as if Im driven by the ancient need to mark the darkness of winter with my little bit of light.

My answer to my husbands question is that I believe one of the most important things I can do while Im on this planet is honor those I love through celebrations， and the older I get， the more I believe it.

When my children were small， their father lost his job. It took a decade to recover emotionally and financially. Hot water and electricity were luxuries that werent always available； meals were a challenge. I tried to hide it from them， but I was constantly afraid of losing our home. Those celebrations were so sparse， the future so uncertain， that the ground seemed to be shifting beneath us.

如果你知道我在說(shuō)什么，你或許就是你家里指定的慶?；顒?dòng)舉辦人——也就是那個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)確保讓你所愛的人可以實(shí)實(shí)在在過一個(gè)節(jié)日的人。

元旦之后那天，我呆坐在餐桌旁。我丈夫問我是否不舒服。

“我好累啊，”我回答道，“我快累死了?！?/p>

他看上去很困惑?！澳銥槭裁疵磕甓歼@么折騰自己？”

我不得不承認(rèn)，冬季假日里我做的事情，幾乎是出于本能的、自然而然的。就像是受原始需求的驅(qū)使，要以我自己的微光，照亮陰暗的冬日。

我這樣回答我的丈夫：我認(rèn)為我有生之年所能做的最重要的事情之一，就是通過操持這些活動(dòng)向那些我愛的人表示尊敬和喜愛。年紀(jì)越大，我對(duì)這一點(diǎn)越深信不疑。

我的孩子還小的時(shí)候，他們的父親失業(yè)了。我們花了十年的時(shí)間才從經(jīng)濟(jì)上和精神上恢復(fù)過來(lái)。那段時(shí)間，有時(shí)家里連熱水和電都沒有，它們成了奢侈品，溫飽更是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。我極力不讓他們察覺，但是我總是害怕失去我們的家。慶祝活動(dòng)在那時(shí)候少之又少，未來(lái)這么渺茫，腳下地面都似乎在搖晃。

So now， celebrations mean that much more to me. This year， I 3）polished the silver， lit the candles， made sure a sprig of holly was carefully 4）tacked above every window； I served a $12 bottle of wine instead of a $7 one； I bought lamb chops instead of a roast—little things， just so wed remember this day， this night.

I believe that in this world there is and always has been so much sadness and sorrow， so much uncertainty， that if we didnt set aside time for 5）merriment， gifts， music and laughter with family and friends， we might just forget to celebrate all together. Wed just 6）plod along in life.

I believe in the importance of celebrations. As my familys Designated Celebrator， I may be tired and I may not have done all that I set out to do， but I believe that this year， I celebrated the ones I love， and I hope with all my heart that I celebrated them well.

所以現(xiàn)在，慶祝活動(dòng)對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)意義重大。今年，我擦亮所有銀器，點(diǎn)亮蠟燭，確保每一扇窗戶都釘上了一小枝冬青；我為大家準(zhǔn)備12美元而非7美元一瓶的酒；我買了羊排而不是烤肉。雖然這些都是小細(xì)節(jié)，但正是這么做，我們才會(huì)記住這一天，這一晚。

我認(rèn)為這個(gè)世界上，有著也總是會(huì)有許多的憂愁和悲傷，許多的未知，如果我們不花點(diǎn)時(shí)間和我們的家人和朋友一起嬉戲玩樂、互贈(zèng)禮物、享受音樂和盡情歡笑，我們或許把聚會(huì)這事全忘光了。那樣，我們就只是在生命旅途中沉重而無(wú)趣地前行。

我確信慶?；顒?dòng)的重要性。作為家里指定的聚會(huì)舉辦者，我或許會(huì)感覺到疲憊，或許會(huì)無(wú)法完成我計(jì)劃的所有事情。但是我相信，今年，我和所有我愛的人同歡共樂，我衷心祝愿所有我愛的人。