周日吃过早饭后,父亲总会围上印有赛车图案的围裙说:“都走吧,我来洗盘子!”然后哼着民谣快乐地开工。我想,一个男孩的父亲穿上一件围裙一定会让人感觉不习惯。但我没有想到,有朝一日父亲会把这项任务交给我。
那是八月的最后一个周日。在我们从教堂回家的途中,父亲的心情似乎格外不错。“汤米,每个男孩子都需要承担责任,现在到了你承担更多家务的时候了。”
人们经常说在父亲和儿子中间存在着一种特殊的默契。当我马上要发火时他回到厨房中。他的右手拿着那件旧围裙。“我想让你拥有它,汤米。它不会使你的衣服变湿。”在我表示抗议前,他已把围裙系到了我身上。“谢谢你,儿子。你母亲和我都对此很感激。”
On Sundays my father always wore that dull gray apron – the one with the race cars all over it. The ritual began after breakfast when Dad always announced: "Go ahead everyone. I’ll take care of the dishes!" With that my mother disappeared into the folds of the Sunday paper. Off came the suit coat he had worn to church that morning. Up went the shirtsleeves. On went that apron. For the next hour Dad did the dishes, singing ballads like "I Had a Hat When I Came In" and "Who Put the Chow in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder?"
I suppose it was strange for a boy’s father to wear an apron – even one with race cars – but I never thought much of it until the day that Dad broke with tradition. It was the last Sunday in August. My father seemed in an expansive mood as we walked home from church together.
"Tommy," he said letting my name roll off his tongue. My mind raced ahead of his words: The birds and the bees? A new bike? A part-time job?
"There comes a time in every boy’s life when he must take on responsibilities." This was important. I might even get to back the car out of the driveway.
"Responsibilities?" I asked.
"Yes. It’s time you took a greater role in the household." Power tools? Boss my baby brother?
"Starting today, I want you to do the dishes on Sunday morning so your mother and I can work the crossword puzzle together."
"The dishes!?"
"Anything wrong with taking over the dishes, son?"
I started to say something about a man’s job or woman’s work, but I knew immediately that my protests would fall on deaf ears.
I didn’t taste a bit of breakfast that morning. Dad seemed in a jovial mood as he described an exceptional Yankee game seen through the eyes of Mel Allen on the radio last night.
"Mickey Mantle drove the ball right over the center field wall," he said. "Just a straight line climb in right out of the stadium." He looked out the window as if trying to pick the ball out of the cloud formations. I tried to imagine Mickey Mantle wearing an apron.
Suddenly, everything grew quiet. My sister began to clear the table. My brother was scraping the last of the egg from his plate. And then that ancient family ritual that had filled so many Sunday mornings came to an end. My father announced: "Let’s go read the paper, Hon."
"Aren’t you doing the dishes?" my mother asked fretfully.
"Your oldest son has generously offered to fill the position."
My brother and sister stopped cold. So this was what my life had come to. A dark angel sat on my left shoulder and reminded me that I could hit a baseball farther than anyone in my class. I could bench-press my weight. I knew three declensions in Latin, the language of Caesar. Ask me to run through a rainstorm. Command me to ride the roller coaster – backward. These things I would do. But I could never do those dishes. There was nothing left but to refuse.
People often say there is a special chemistry between a father and a son. He came back into the kitchen just as I was about to storm out. He had loosened his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt – ready to relax. In his right hand was the old apron.
"I want you to have this, Tommy. It’ll keep your clothes from getting wet." And before I could mount a protest, he had put the thing on me. "Thanks, Son. Your mother and I appreciate this."
With that he disappeared into the Sunday paper. I looked down at the plastic. It had seen better days. I could see my dad reaching for the dishes. The dark angel flew off. Soon I was singing about Mrs. Murphy’s chowder. The words came out of nowhere. And out of nowhere I knew the kind of man I wanted to be.
Dish washing 父亲让我洗盘子
英语社
人气:2.7W
相关文章:
- 儿童双语故事:The Father and His Son父亲和他的孩子们
- The english we speak(BBC教学)第139期:Two phrases about fatherhood 两个与父亲身份有关的短语
- 英语美文父亲让我洗盘子短文
- 父亲节赞美父亲的英语诗歌朗诵:What Makes a Dad
- 洗衣日 The Washing Day
- 威廉王子畅谈为父心得 Prince William discusses how fatherhood has affected him
- 伊索寓言:父亲和孩子们 the FATHER AND HIS SONSA
- The english we speak(BBC教学)第25期:Doing my head in让我头疼
- 父亲在孩子成长中扮演的角色The Role Father Plays in Children’s Growing Up
- 当我让父母失望 When I Disappoint My Parents
热门推荐
- 1The english we speak(BBC教学)第80期:Down with the kids 和孩子们打成一片
- 2英语笑话:Father's Things 父亲的东西
- 3美语情景对话 第1256期:Should mothers stay home with children? 母亲应该在家照顾孩子吗
- 4我们应当给帮带孩子的父母工资吗?Should we pay our parents for their babysitting?
- 5英语笑话:父亲的东西 Father's Things
- 6Father Has Given up Smoking父亲戒烟了
- 7英语口语大赢家Topic178:湿洗和干洗Ordinary Washing and Dry cleaning
- 8The english we speak(BBC教学) 第6期:It's doing my head in真让人受不了
- 9见证中国巨变的父女 How the Chinese dream was built in a single generation
- 10父亲的拥抱 In Praise of Hugs
猜你喜欢
- 1我的父亲是公交车司机 My Father Is a Bus Driver
- 2英语笑话:Send the Bill to My Father 把账单给我父亲
- 3addressing machines with devices to the gluing webs是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 4中国有高速公路吗? Does China Has Highways?
- 5英语口语大赢家Topic133:洗发Washing Hair
- 6双语故事:Where is the father? (父亲在哪儿?)
- 7父亲节英语演讲稿:My Father’s Hands
- 8诗歌:My Father Was My Hero父亲是我心目中的英雄
- 9双语美文:父亲的拥抱 In Praise of Hugs
- 10相亲节目是否应该禁止Weather dating shows be banned
- 11The english we speak(BBC教学)第106期:Get your hands dirty 亲自动手
- 12大学生寄脏衣服回家洗 College Students Send Dirty Clothes Home for Washing
- 13相亲节目 On Dating Shows
- 14西方为何调整对沙特政策 Why the west's view of the Saudis is shifting
- 15孙杨世锦赛第三金 Sun Yang Wins the Third Gold in World Championships
更多推荐
- 1一般遗赠物是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 2主动的电磁引信是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 3acetonylmalonic acid是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 4character coding是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 5脑回压迹是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 6大学最有价值的9类证书,你有几个?
- 7一样大小是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释大纲
- 82018考研英语阅读掌握五类解题技巧
- 9关于出国旅游的英语词汇
- 10浅谈德语中9个奇怪的介词
- 11我的家庭英语作文50词
- 12美语情景对话 第694期:Little Sister 妹妹
- 132022年12月英语六级高频词汇
- 14日语常用简单词汇:甜用日语怎么说
- 15caseous tubercule是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释