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。
It was unusual spring weather—chilly with light, misting rain. The boys each carried a battery-powered lantern with them to light their way to the tent.
那是个不寻常的春日天气——寒冷，微光照耀，细雨朦朦。儿子们都提着一个带电池的灯笼，用它们照亮通往帐篷的路。
In lawn chairs, 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 constellations 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 crackling and smoke filling the silence. Afterwards, we directed the boys to a 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.
在史蒂夫已经生好的一小团篝火旁，儿子们坐在草坪椅上，第一次用我们已经收藏很多年、只期待着某个特别的时刻用上的可展开式古董餐叉烤药属葵。史蒂夫指认着天上的星座，并识别夜间的各种声响。我们对着大树讲故事和唱歌。有那么一阵子，我们把儿子们抱在膝盖上，静静地凝视着篝火在跳着催人入睡的舞蹈，四周的寂静里夹杂着劈啪声，烟雾弥漫。后来，我们指引儿子们走向史蒂夫用树干做成的小野餐桌。他们借着灯笼里的光在那儿刷牙，脱鞋。他们进入帐篷后尖声叫喊，跳上跳下。史蒂夫立即就加入到他们的狂欢中。
It’s a sight that will burn brightly in my memory for a long, long time.
那一幕将长久地存在于我的记忆中，一直如新。
Steve liked to earn a little pocket change on occasion by delivering antiques for a dealer friend to various 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 those times.
史蒂夫有时喜欢通过帮一个经销商朋友运送古董到德克萨斯州的各个地方来赚些外快。他会把四个孩子一起带上，和他们共度那些旅程。有人问他为什么运货时不直接把孩子们送到托儿所里。
His answer?
猜猜他的回答是什么？
“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, and
before you can say “knee replacement surgery,” they’re picking out a retirement home for you.
Our son, Cody, overheard Steve make a comment about someone who “just needed to 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!”
“在哪里还能让一个父亲和孩子们一起共度美好的时光，而且还有薪水领？”
他们说的很对：当孩子们还小的时候，享受和他们在一起的时光。光阴似箭，在你能说“膝盖替换手术”之前，他们正为你挑选着一间退休后居住的房屋。
我们的儿子科迪偷听到史蒂夫对某个“需要出去，过一种生活”的人作出的评论。
“爸爸，什么是生活？”
“生活就是你把握好每一天，并充分利用它。”
“哦，我知道了！”
We don’t know if he really understood. But we do know that time is the most important thing one can spend on a child.
Just don’t spend it all in one place.
我们不知道他是不是真的明白。但我们确实知道——时间是一个人能花在孩子身上的最重要的东西。
只是千万别把时间全花在一个地方！
