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1.After22 years of marriage, I've discovered the secret tokeepinglove and intimacyalivein myrelationship withmy wife, Peggy: Istarteddatinganother woman.
1、经历22年的婚姻，我发现如何同妻子佩吉保持爱恋和亲密关系的秘密：去约会另一个女人。
2. The "other woman"my wifewas encouragingme to dateis my mother,a 72-year-oldwidowwho has livedalonesincemy father died 20 years ago. Rightafterhis death, Imoved2500 milesawaytoCalifornia andstartedmy own family and career.WhenImovedbacknear my hometownsix years ago,I promised myselfthatIwould spendmore timewithMom.Butwiththe demandsofmy job and three kids,I nevergot around toseeinghermuchbeyondfamilyget-togethers and holidays.
2、我妻子鼓励我去约会的“另一个女人”就是我的母亲，一位72岁的寡妇(widow)。20年前父亲去世后，她一直独居至今。就在父亲去世后，我搬到了2500英里以外的加利福尼亚，成家立业。6年前我搬回(move back)到靠近老家的地方，那时，我曾承诺(promise)要花些时间同妈妈在一起。但是由于(with)需要兼顾我的工作和3个孩子，除家庭聚会(family get-togethers)和节假日外(beyond)，我很少抽时间(get around to doing sth orn.)去看望她。
3. She was surprised and suspicious, then,whenI called and suggestedthe two of usgoout to dinner and a movie. "What's wrong?" she asked. Mymother thinksanythingout of the ordinary signals bad news. "I thoughtitwould beniceto spend some timewith you," I said. "Just the two of us.""I'd like that a lot."shereplied.
3、我打电话给母亲，建议我们俩外出一起吃饭、看电影，她感到惊讶(surprised)和疑惑(suspicious)。“出什么事了吗?”她问，妈妈把任何不寻常的(out of the ordinary)信号都当成是坏消息。“我想跟您共度一段时光会很愉快的。”我说。“就我们俩。”“那太好了，”她答道。
4.AsI drove to her house,I actually hada case ofpredate jitters!What wouldwe talk about?What ifshe didn't like therestaurantI chose?
4、我开车驶往母亲住所，竟感到约会前的紧张不安(jitters)。我们将谈些什么呢?如果她不喜欢我选的餐馆怎么办?
5.WhenIpulled intoher driveway, shewas waitingbythe doorwithher coaton. Her hair wascurled, and shewas smiling. "I told my lady friendsI was going out with my son, andtheywere all impressed,"she saidasshe got into my car. "Theycan'twait to hear about ourevening."
5、我的车驶进(pull into)母亲家门前的车道（driveway）时，她已穿好外套(with her coat on)等在门口了。她的头发卷好了，面带笑容。“我告诉我的女伴们，说我要和儿子一道外出，她们都深受感动(be impressed)，”母亲边说边上了我的车。“她们急着想知道我们怎样度过今天晚上。”
6. We didn't goanywherefancy,justa neighborhood placewherewe could talk. My mother clutched my arm,halfout ofaffection andhalfto help her negotiate the restaurant steps.Sinceher eyes now see onlylarge shapes and shadows, I had to read the menufor both of us. Halfwaythroughrecitingthe entrees, Iglancedupandsaw Momlooking atme, a wistful smile on her lips. "Iusedto bethe menureaderwhenyou were little,"she said. I understoodwhatshe was saying.Fromcaregiver tocared-for,fromcared-fortocaregiver, our relationshiphadcome full circle. "Thenit's time for you to relax and let me return the favor,"I said. We had a nice talk over dinner.Nothingearth-shattering,just catching up with each other's lives. We talkedforsolongthatwe missed the movie."I'll go out with you again," my mother saidasIdropped heroff, "Butonlyifyou let me buy dinner next time." I agreed.
6、我们没有去高档的(fancy)餐馆，只在附近找了一个便于说话的地方。我的母亲紧挽着(clutch)我的胳膊，既是出于对我的慈爱(affection)，也是为了自己能扶着我走上餐馆的台阶。由于(since)她现在的视力只能看到大致的形状和模糊的影子，我得为我们俩读菜单。我念到一半时，抬头瞥见(glance up)母亲正看着我(looking at me)，嘴角(on her lips)泛着若有所思(wistful)的微笑。“你小时候我常念菜单给你听，”她说。我明白她的意思。(I understoodwhatshe was saying)她已从关爱者(caregiver)变为受照顾者(cared-for)，我则从受照顾者变为关爱者，我们的关系掉了个个儿(come full circle)。“现在你该轻松轻松了，让我来照顾你。”我说。我们边吃边谈，谈得很好。没有谈什么大事(earth-shattering)，只是交谈些彼此的生活情况(catch up with each other'slives)。我们谈了很长时间，以致没赶上看电影。“我还想跟你一起外出。”我送母亲回去，下车时她说，“不过，下次你得让我请客。”我答应了。
7. "How was your date?" my wife askedwhenI got homethatevening. "Nice..nicerthanIthought it would be," I said.Shesmiledhertold-you-so smile.
7、“你的约会怎么样?”那天晚上回家时，妻子问我。“不错……，比我想的还要好，”我说。她笑了，一副早就料到的样子(told you so 早说过)。
8. Mom and Igo out for dinneracouple of timesa month.Sometimes wetake in a movie,butmostlywe talk. Itellheraboutmytrials at work and brag about the kids and Peggy. Mom fills me in on familygossip and tells me about her past. Now Iknow what it was like for her to work in a factoryduringWorld War II. I know how she met my father there, andhowthey nurtured a trolley-car courtship throughthose difficult times.I can't get enough of these stories.They are important to me, apart of my history. We also talk about the future.Because of health problems, my mother worries aboutthe daysahead. "I have so much livingto do," she told meonce. "I need to be therewhilemy grandchildren grow up. I don't want to missany of it."
8、从此我和妈妈每个月都要外出共进几次（acouple of times）晚餐。有时我们也看场电影（take in a movie），但大部分时间都是交谈。我跟她讲工作中的烦恼(trials)，也向她夸耀(brag about)佩吉和孩子们。母亲跟我谈了许多家长里短的事(on family gossip)，也对我讲了她过去的经历。现在我知道了她二战期间在一家工厂里做工的情况(waht it was like for her to work in a factory)，并知道她在那里如何同父亲相识的，在那困难的日子里，他们在有轨电车(trolley-car)上培育了(nurtured)一段恋爱史(courtship)。我对这些故事百听不厌。它们对我很重要，是我历史的一部分。我们也谈论未来。由于健康方面的原因，母亲担心着今后的日子(the days ahead)。“我要做的事儿多着呢，”有一次她对我说。“我要看着孙子、孙女们长大成人。我可什么都不想错过。”
9. Itend to fillmy calendar to the brim asI struggle to fit family, career andfriendships into my life. I often complain about how quickly time flies.Spendingtime with my momhas taughtmetheimportance of slowing down.
9、忙于应付家庭生活、事业和朋友关系等种种事情，我的日程表(calendar)总是排得满满的。我经常抱怨(complain)时光飞逝。与母亲共度时光，使我懂得了放慢生活节奏的重要。
