成语之最最珍贵的时光

1、Steve, what am I going to do? ” Mike 1)bemoaned.Our friend, Mike, wasgoing to finally see his boys. Separated from his wife, who lived on an entirely different continent, it had been over a year since he' d seen his boys. They wereflying in to spend one week with him.not used to having them to h

2、imself;The fear on his face was real. He was apparentlyespecially for one whole week.I don ' t have the money to take them anywhere,he said.I was hoping togo on down to that water park in 2)New Braunfels.“That place is expensive, Mike!” Steve retorted.“You don't need to spenda lot of money t

3、o have fun! Take them to the springs. Fill up your gas tank and go find some historic sites. You can borrow my tent and go camping.”Judging from the distaste on our friend ' s face, none of those suggestions were worthy of conside-ration. Stubbornly 3)ingrained in him was the idea that the amoun

4、t of money 4)splurged on his children equaled the amount of love he' d get in return.I ventured.his boys and for their clueless father. They“ What do your boys like to do?”He shrugged, “ I don ' t know. ”“ No, I mean, what are their hobbies?« I ;i”“I ' m not sure. ”My heart filled w

5、ith compassion for connectedmainly through 5)sporadic, expensive phone calls and through infrequent exchanges of 6)snail mail. Mike wanted to make an impression on his boys: he was successful here in the United States and could afford to take them anywhere they wanted.He just didn ' t get it.I r

6、emember as a child the things my family did that cost practically nothing atall. Aspontaneous picnic under a generous oak, pulling 7)off the beaten path to pursue a trail of signs that led us to a barn filled with dusty treasures. Taking walks around the block with my parents after dinner. One Chris

7、tmas stood out when, at a loss as to what to give his girls, my dad presented each of us with a wrapped shoebox inside of which was a slip of paper that simply said, “I love you. ” I can't even remember what else I opened that Christmas morning.One Sunday afternoon, while on the freeway, Steve v

8、eered off to revisit a small town we hadn ' t seen in a while and stopped at an empty city park. There, the boys gleefully sampled 8)monkey bars and listless swings. We brushed a layer of leaves off the concrete picnic table and ate sandwiches we had brought from home. Afterwards, they strayed t

9、o the edge of a creek, pocketing unusual stones, and swirling patterns in the shallow water with sticks.I remember with fondness the time when Steve was anxious to instill a love for camping to the older boys, ages three and four at the time.Across the street from our home, under a cluster of 9)gnar

10、led oak trees, Steve spread out fake grass turf, erected a tent on it, and stuffed it with sleeping bags, blankets and pillows. He even placed a 10)potty chair at the entrance of the tent.It was unusual spring weather chilly with light, misting rain. The boys each carried a battery-powered lantern w

11、ith them to light their way to the tent.本文为全文原貌未安装PDF浏览器用户请先下载安装原版全文In lawnchairs, around a small campfire that Steve had prepared, the boys roasted 11)marshmallows for the first time on antique extendable forks we had collected over the years in anticipation of that very moment. Steve pointed out c

12、onstellations and identified a variety of nighttime sounds. We told stories and sang to an audience of trees. And for a while there, with the boys in our laps, we quietly gazed at the campfire 's 12)hypnotic dance, the cracklingand smoke filling the silence. Afterwards,we directed the boys to a

13、small picnic table Steve had 13)fashioned out of tree stumps. They brushed their teeth there by lantern-light, removed their shoes, and squealed loudly when they entered the tent, jumping up and down. Steve wasted no time joining their 14)merrymaking.It 's a sight that will burn brightly in my m

14、emory for a long, long time.Steve liked to earn a little pocket change on occasion by delivering antiques for a dealer friend tovarious parts of Texas. He' d pack up all four kids and treat them to these road trips. Someone asked him why he didn ' t just stick the kids in daycare during thos

15、e times.His answer?“Where else can a father spend quality time with his children and get paid for it?It ' s true what they say. Enjoy them while they ' re young. The years will 15)zip by, andbefore you can say “ knee replacement surgery, ” they 're picking out a retirement home for you.O

16、ur son, Cody, overheard Steve make a comment about someone who“ just neededto go out and get a life.”“What' s a life, Dad? ”“It ' s when you take each day and make the most of it.”“ Oh, I see! ”We don' t know if he really understood. But we do know that time is the most important thing o

17、ne can spend on a child.Just don ' t spend it all in one place.史蒂夫，我要怎么做？”迈克哀叹道。我们的朋友迈克终于将见到他的几个儿子了。他和妻子分开后，她就住在另一个洲。他 和几个儿子已经一年多没见面了。他们将要搭飞机过来和他团聚，共度一周。他脸上呈现出的畏惧是真实的。他显然不习惯单独地和他们在一起，特别是一起待上一 整周的时间。“我没钱带他们去任何地方， ”他说，“我希望能带他们去新布朗费尔斯市的那个水上乐 园玩。”“迈克，那个地方很贵的！ ”史蒂夫反对道， “你不需要花很多钱在玩上！带他们去看泉 水；或者加满你的汽油箱

18、，带他们去探寻一些历史遗迹；你还可以借我的帐篷去野营。 ”从我们这个朋友那一脸厌恶的表情可以判断，这些建议对他来说没任何参考价值。他内 心有一种想法根深蒂固花在他孩子身上的钱等同于他将获得回报的爱。“你几个儿子喜欢做什么？”我冒昧地问道。他耸了耸肩说道“我不知道。 ”“不，我是在问，他们有什么业余爱好？”我不太清楚。我心里充满了对他儿子一一以及他们那个对儿子不甚了解的父亲的怜悯之情。他们主要通过不定期拨打费用昂贵的电话以及零星的信件联系。迈克想给他的儿子留下这样一种印象 他在美国这里干得很成功，他们想去哪里玩他都能负担得起费用。他只是不得要领。我记得我还小的时候，我们一家人一起做的事几乎没有花

19、费什么钱在一棵很大的橡树下 进行一次无拘无束的野餐， 跑到人迹罕至的地方， 循迹来到一个装满积满灰尘的宝贝的谷仓； 饭后和爸妈在街区附近散步。有一年圣诞，我父亲因为不知道要送他的女儿们什么礼物而不 知所措，他于是送给我们每个人一个包装好的鞋盒， 里面有一张纸， 上面只是写着 “我爱你。 我甚至不记得圣诞那天早上我打开了其他什么礼物。一个周日下午，在高速公路上，开着车的史蒂夫改变方向，带我们重游一个我们有好一 阵没去的小镇，并在一个空无一人的城市公园里停下。在那里，儿子们很开心地试着玩单杠 和那些无精打采垂吊着的秋千。我们拂去用钢筋混凝土筑成的野餐桌上的一层叶子，坐在那 里吃从家带过来的三明治。后来，他们闲逛到一条小溪的边上，拣拾一些特别的石头放进口 袋，还用棍子在浅水区里搅出一些图案。我记得那时，史蒂夫迫不及待地要培养两个当时分别只有 3 岁和 4 岁的儿子对野营的兴 趣。穿过我们家附近的那条街道，在一排多节的橡树下面，史蒂夫铺开人造草皮，在上面竖 起一个帐篷，并在帐篷里面放置了睡袋、毯子和枕头。他甚至在帐篷入口那里放置了一个便 盆椅。那是个不寻常的春日天气一一寒冷，微光照耀，细雨朦朦。儿子们