谢谢你,凯姐姐
The first time I saw Kai she was sitting in my front yard, hugging my dog, Harley.
我第一次看到凯的时候,她正坐我家前院里,抱着我的狗狗Harley。
She and her husband Sean had just moved into a tiny home down the hill from us.
那时她和丈夫Sean刚刚搬到一所小房子里,从我家往下山的方向不远处。
I think she was drawn to Harley's friendly personality just as he was drawn to hers.
我想她一定是被Harley友善的态度吸引了,正如她的丈夫被她友善的气质吸引一样。
From the second I talked to her I knew Kai would be a cherished friend.
从我开始和她交谈的那一刻起,我就知道,我一定会珍惜凯这个朋友。
Her smile and good cheer made me feel better just being around her.
她的微笑,她乐观开朗的模样让我仅仅是待在她身边就感到很开心了。
Her high voice was always full of happiness.
她说话音调很高,声音里总充满幸福感。
Before I knew it she was inviting me and my children into her house for homemade cake.
就在我了解到这一点之前,她已经在邀请我和我的孩子们去她家品尝她自制的蛋糕了。
It didn't take long before Kai was beloved by everyone in our neighborhood.
没过多久,凯就成为附近居民中人人宠爱的对象。
Children and adults alike visited her home often.
无论孩子还是大人,都经常跑去她家做客。
Although she already had four cats she adopted a stray beagle that had been hurt by a bear and nursed it back to health.
——她已经养了四只猫,还收养了一只流浪的猎兔犬,它被野熊咬伤了,凯姐姐为它疗伤,直到它恢复健康,所以家里总是人满为患。
When we visited her she would kindly listen to all of our troubles
我们去她家拜访的时候,她总是善意的聆听我们倾吐自己的烦恼
and then say something so wise and uplifting
然后给以机智的建议,和振奋人心的鼓励
that we would leave her home with our mouths smiling and our hearts singing.
当我们从她家走出来的时候,我们总是面带微笑,心里唱着愉快的歌儿。
Sometimes I would read her my stories
有时我会把我写的故事读给她听
while one of her cats would nap on my lap
她家的猫躺在我的膝盖上打着盹
and she would always encourage me to keep writing and sharing with the world.
她总是鼓励我继续写下去,要和全世界分享我的故事
Kai wasn't Hawaiian but loved the Hawaiian culture and spirit of family it cherished.
凯不是夏威夷本地人,但她十分喜爱夏威夷的本土文化,喜欢夏威夷人重视亲情的风俗。
She was even a hula dancer in her younger days.
她年轻的时候还跳过hula舞呢。
She gave me a Hawaiian shirt that I loved so much
她送给我一件夏威夷本土风格的衬衣,我爱不释手
that soon I bought several others to go with it
为了跟这件衬衣搭配,我立刻买了好几件其他的穿搭
and today they are the only kind of shirt I wear.
到现在,我只穿夏威夷风格的衬衣了
Each time I see them hanging in my closet I think of her.
每次我看到他们挂在我的衣柜里,我都会想到她
Kai was a true giver.
凯总是对别人付出
She didn't have much to share materially 她囊中羞涩,
拿不出多少跟大家分享,
but what she gave to others spiritually was truly priceless.
但是她分享给别人的精神财富都是无价之宝
She gave everything she could, to everyone she could, every chance she could.
对所有的人,无论任何情况,她总是倾其所有对别人付出。
She had lived a life of such unconditional love.
终其一生,她都用无条件的爱爱着所有人。
All of this time, though, Kai was slowly dying from a terrible combination of Cancer and C.O.P.D.
可是,凯一直受着病痛的折磨,癌症和慢性障碍性肺病一起慢慢消磨着她的生命
She had told me the first time we talked that she was terminal .
我们第一次交谈的时候,她就告诉我,她离死期不远了
Yet, she lived each day with such vitality that I often forgot just how ill she was.
可是,她还是每天都活力满满,以至于我经常忘了,其实她身患重病。
In time her health did wane and she spent more and more time resting and sleeping.
时间一长,她的健康状况越来越差,休息和睡觉的时间越来越多
I still visited her but only on her few “good” days.
我还是会去拜访她,不过只在那些寥寥无几的她的“好日子”里。
She died on a cold, Winter's day with heavy snow falling down like teardrops from sky.
在一个严寒刺骨的冬日,大雪纷飞如同天上落下的眼泪,她终于去世了。
In spite of the short time we had together
虽然我们在一起的日子十分短暂
I learned so much from Kai
我还是从凯身上学到了很多
about how to truly live all the days we are given here.
她教会我如何真正利用好我们所拥有的每一天
Lessons on kindness, generosity , hope, and good cheer seemed to flow freely from her daily life.
那些关于善良,关于慷慨,关于希望和积极心态的启示似乎总会从她每天的生活中自由的流溢出来
I think most of all she taught me that joy like love is quite contagious
我觉得她教会我的最重要的事情是,欢乐如同爱一样,是相互传染的
and that I should always strive to be a carrier of them both.
并且,我应该永远努力成为欢乐和爱的承载者
May the same be said for all of us.
希望我们所有人都能这样
Thanks Kai.
谢谢你,凯姐姐