NPR 06-23:The Train Down South: A Trip to Segregation我的“父亲梦”

Chris Huntington believes adoption¹ will make him the father he wants to be

I believe in mystery.
I believe in family.
I believe in being who I am.
I believe in the power of failure.
And I believe normal life is extraordinary.
This I Believe.

Once a month, we bring you a special online edition of This I Believe. This week we hear from listener Chris Huntington, who’s been in Indianapolis, Indiana. Huntington joined the Peace Corps² after college, wandered around the world, and eventually came home. He married two years ago and he and his wife have been trying to start a family. That effort led Huntington to recognize his belief as you’ll hear in his essay.

I no longer believe my wife and I are going to have a baby the old-fashioned way. But I no longer think this really matters. I believe in adoption now.

Four months ago, the Chinese government accepted our dossier. In the next year or two, a little girl will be born and her parents will not want her. My wife and I will fly to China to meet this girl and bring her home with us.

When I was a teenager, everyone said becoming a parent was easy. So easy, I had to be careful not to do it accidentally. I guess it’s easy for a lot of other people, but not for me and my wife. I am 39. My wife is 31. For the last two years, I've watched this woman I love inject herself with needles full of hormone³ syrup⁴. She got huge bruises⁵ on each side of her waist. Our friends would bring their kids over to visit. And we’d hang up their tiny coats hoping some magic would rub off on our hands. When it didn’t, we started avoiding any place we’d see the one thing we wanted so desperately⁶. Our own neighborhood became awkward. The woman across the street emerged in the spring with a giant belly⁷. My wife and I stopped going to parks and matinees. Taking our clothes off became a medical procedure. We obeyed the calendar instead of each other’s eyes. I’d see young couples pushing strollers in the grocery store, and I’d taste jealousy⁸ like pennies in my mouth.

I used to believe that becoming a parent was part of our biology. It was something everyone can do. When I couldn’t make a baby, I felt a little less human.

I teach in a prison, a medium-security facility full of men. I help guys write letters when they ask. Most of the letters are to girlfriends and ex-wives. I don’t see long letters to children. I feel lost opportunity all around me. I can see that becoming a parent is much more than our biology. And now I believe that becoming a parent is a gift you make to the universe and that the universe makes to you. Now I want my family to include a little girl who looks nothing like me or my wife. Some day I will lean across the table and cut this little girl’s green beans. I will meet her teachers. I will see her bicycle standing⁹ in the garage. I love the idea that this girl will grow up to be a woman and still look nothing like me. But whenever she hears the word Dad, she will think of me.

People think we are good and generous because we are giving our home to an orphan¹⁰ and giving her a family. But the truth is she will be giving us a family. I believe in adoption because it will make me the man I want to be, a father.

Chris Huntington with his essay for This I Believe.

He and his wife are still waiting for word from China. As you know, we invite everyone to submit essays to our series. Over 30,000 have done so so far. And at our website npr.org/thisIbelieve, you can find out more and browse¹¹ to all the essays that have been sent into us. For This I Believe, I am Jay Allison.

This I believe is independently produced by Jay Allison, Dan Gediman, John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

Support for NPR comes from Prudential Retirement¹², sponsor of This I Believe. Prudential believes every worker can achieve a more secure retirement. Prudential retirement, where beliefs matter.

Support for This I Believe comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

1 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

5 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

8 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

11 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。