辛迪·卡恩·舍洪
SandiKahnShehon
MydaughterAllieisleavingforcollegeinaweek。Herroomisclutteredwithshoingbagsfilledwithblankets,towels,jeans,sweaters。
Shewonttalkaboutgoing。
Isay,“Imgoingtomissyou。”andshegivesmeoneofherlooksandleavestheroom。AnothertimeIsay,inavoicesofriendlyitsurrisesevenme:“Doyouthinkyoulltakeyourostersandictureswithyou,orwillyougetnewonesatcollege?”
Sheanswers,hervoicefilledwithannoyance,“HowshouldIknow?”
Mydaughterisoffwithfriendsmostofthetime。YesterdaywasthelastdayshedhaveuntilChristmaswithherfriendKatharine,whomshesknownsincekindergarten。Soon,itwillbeherlastdaywithSarah,Claire,Heather……andthenitwillbeherlastdaywithme。
MyfriendKarentoldme,“TheAugustbeforeIleftforcollege,Iscreamedatmymotherthewholemonth。Bereared。”
Istandinthekitchen,watchingAlliemakeaglassoficedtea。Herface,oncesooenandtrusting,isclosedtome。Istruggletothinkofsomethingtosaytoher,somethingmeaningfulandwarm。IwanthertoknowImexcitedaboutthecollegeshehaschosen,thatIknowtheadventureofherlifeisjuststartingandthatIamroudofher。ButthelookonherfaceissomadthatIthinkshemightslugmeifIoenmymouth。
Onenight-afteralongeriodofsilencebetweenus-IaskedwhatImighthavedoneorsaidtomakeherangrywithme。Shesighedandsaid,“Mom,youhaventdoneanything。Itsfine。”Itisfine-justdistant。
Somehowintheastwehadalwaysfoundsomewaytoconnect。WhenAlliewasatoddler,Iwouldgototheday-carecenterafterwork。Idfindaquietsotandshewouldnurse-oureyeslockedtogether,reconnectingwitheachother。
Inmiddleschool,whenothermotherswerealreadylamentingtheestrangementtheyfeltwiththeiradolescentdaughters,Ihituonasolution:rescueraids。Iwouldshowuoccasionallyatschool,signheroutofclassandtakehersomewhere-outtolunch,tothemovies,onceforalongwalkonthebeach。Itmaysoundirresonsible,butitketusclosewhenothermothersanddaughterswerefloundering。Wetalkedabouteverythingonthoseoutings-outingsweketsecretfromfamilyandfriends。
Whenshestartedhighschool,Idgetuwithherinthemorningtomakeherasandwichforlunch,andwedsilentlydrinkacuofteatogetherbeforethe6:40buscame。
AcouleoftimesduringhersenioryearIwentintoherroomatnight,thelightoff,butbeforeshewenttoslee。Idsitontheedgeofherbed,andshedtellmeaboutroblems:ateacherwholoweredhergradebecauseshewastooshytotalkinclass,aboywhoteasedher,afriendwhohadstartedsmoking。Hervoice,comingoutofthedarkness,wasyoungandquestioning。
AfewdayslaterIdhearheronthehone,reeatingsomeofthethingsIhadsaid,thingsshehadadotedforherown。
Butnowwearehavingtwokindsofartings。Iwanttheromanticizedversion,wherewegotolunchandleanacrossthetableandsayhowmuchwewillmisseachother。Iwantsmilesthroughtears,bittersweetmomentsofreminiscenceandthechancetooffersomelastbitsofwisdom。
Butassherearestodeart,Alliesfeelingshavegoneunderground。WhenIreachtotouchherarm,sheullsaway。SheturnsdowneveryinvitationIextend。Sheliesonherbed,readingEmilyDickinsonuntilIsaylhavealwayslovedEmilyDickinson,andthensheclosesthebook。
Somesaythetighteryourbondwithyourchild,thegreaterherneedtobreakaway,toestablishherownidentityintheworld,Themoreitwillhurt,theysay。Afriendofminewhowentthroughadifficulttimewithherdaughterbutnowhasbecomeclosetoheragain,tellsme,“Yourdaughterwillbebacktoyou,”
“Idontknow,”Isay。IsometimesfeelsoangrythatIwanttogooverandshakeAllie。Iwanttosay,“Talktome-oryouregrounded!”Ifeelmyselfwantingtosaythatmosthorribleofallmotherhrases:“ThinkofeverythingIvedoneforyou。”
Lateonenight,asImgettingreadyforbed,shecomestothebathroomdoorandwatchesmebrushmyteeth。Foramoment,IthinkImustbebrushingmyteethinawayshedoesntaroveof。Butthenshesays,“Iwanttoreadyousomething。”Itsaamhletfromhercollege。“Thesearetisforarents。”
Iwatchherfaceasshereadstheadvicealoud:“‘Dontaskyourchildifsheishomesick,’itsays。‘Shemightfeelbadthefirstfewweeks,butdontletitworryyou。Thisisanaturaltimeoftransition。Writeherlettersandcallheralot。Sendaackageofgoodies……’”
Hervoicebreaks,andshecomesovertomeandburiesherheadinmyshoulder。Istrokeherhair,lightly,afraidshellboltifIsayaword。Westandtheretogetherforlongmoments,swaying,reconnecting。
Iknowitwillbehardagain。Itslikelytherewillbeafightaboutsomething。ButIamgratefultobestandinginhereatmidnight,bothofustiredandsad,toothastesmearedonmychin,holdingtightto-whilealsolettinggoof-mydaughterwhoistryingtosaygood-bye。
一周后,女儿就要离开家去上大学了,她的房间里堆满了购物袋,里边满是毛毯、毛巾、牛仔裤和毛衣等。
她闭口不提有关要走的话题。
我说:“我会想你的。”她看了我一眼走开了。还有一次,我用近乎讨好的,连自己都惊讶的语气问她:“你打算把自己的海报和图片带走,还是到大学再弄新的呢?”
她却极不耐烦地回答:“我怎么知道?”
最近女儿总不在家,多数时候与朋友们在一起。昨天是她与朋友凯瑟琳在圣诞节前一起度过的最后一天。她们从幼儿园起就是朋友。不久,将会是她与萨拉、克莱尔、希瑟……的最后一天。然后,才将是她与我度过的最后的一天。
我的朋友凯伦曾告诉过我:“我离家上大学前的那个八月,对我妈妈吼了整整一个月。你作好准备吧。”
我站在厨房,看见艾莉在沏冰茶。她的脸,曾经对我如此坦诚,如此信任,现在又离我这么近。我想尽量对她说些有意义的或贴心的话。我想告诉她,她选的大学令我很兴奋,我知道她生命的冒险历程才刚开始,我为她感到骄傲。可她脸上的表情如此愤怒,我担心一开口,她就会给我一拳。
一天晚上——我们之间沉默了很长一段时间后——我问她,是不是我做过或说过什么话,使她生气了。她叹口气说:“妈,您没做错什么,一切都很好。”是啊,一切都好——只是我们越来越疏远了。
不知为什么,过去我们总能找到沟通的方式。艾莉刚学走路时,我常在下班后去托儿所接她,找一个安静的地方喂她奶——我们注视着对方,两颗心凝聚在一起。
上中学时,许多妈妈悲伤地发现,进入青春期的女儿与自己的距离越来越远了。我偶然想出了一个好的解决办法:“营救奇袭。”我不时会突然出现在校园,签字让她离开教室,把她带到其他的地方——吃饭、看电影。有一次,我还带她去海边散步,走了很长一段路。听起来似乎有点儿不负责任,但其他的母女不知所措时,我们的关系却更密切了。我们外出散步,几乎无话不谈——外出游玩成了我们两人的秘密,对所有的家人和朋友都保密。
她开始上高中时,早上我和她同时起床,为她的午餐准备三明治,然后我们一起静静地喝茶,直到6:40的班车到来。
她上高三的时候,有几次,晚上我走进她的房间,灯已经关了,可她并没睡,我就坐在她床边跟她聊天。她会跟我诉说遇到的一些困难:因为她在课堂上太害羞,不敢大胆发言,一个老师给了她低分;有一个男生嘲笑她;她一个朋友开始抽烟了。她的声音从黑暗中传来,听起来那么年轻而又充满困惑。
几天后,我听到她在打电话时,把和我说过的话重复给别人听。她已经照我的话去做了。
现在,对于离别,我们却有两种不同的看法。我想用浪漫的方式告别,出去吃顿午餐,坐在饭桌旁对视着,诉说我们会多么思念对方。我想有流泪的微笑、苦且甜的回忆,临别时,还有机会互诉最后几点看法。
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