2007年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-The Designated Celebrator（在线收听） |
| Welcome to "This I Believe". An NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable men and women from all walks of life. I believe in figuring out my own way to do things. I believe in the power of numbers. I believe in barbecue. Well, I believe in friendliness. I beliebe in mankind. This I Believe... For our Monday series "This I Believe", we invite you to submit statements of personal conviction. Today's is one of the more than 20,000 we've received, it's from Melinda Shoaf,a homemaker and mother of four from Memphis Tennessee. Here's our series curator, independent producer, Jay Alleson. After last year's holiday season, Melinda Shoaf sat down to write her essay for our series. We recorded her after this year's holiday, and she told us that her belief has become all the more solid for having put it down in words the year before. Here's Melinda Shoaf with her essay for "This I Believe". I believe that if you are the person in your family who arranged for and executed the celebration this past holiday season. Well, you're probably still tired. You may be wondering why you spent so much on presents, why you had to have your house just right, why you had friends over for drinks when you were already weary and worn out.You maybe think you are getting too old for all of this. Or you may be thinking you are too young. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably your family's designated celebrator, that is the one who sees to it, that a holiday actually happens, in the lives of your loved ones. After New Year's, I was sitting at the breakfast table in a stupor. My husband asked if I was all right, I'm exhausted, I answered, I'm totally exhausted. He looked puzzled. Why do you do this to yourself every year? I have to admit the part of what I do around the winter holiday seems almost involuntary innate. It's as if I'm driven by the ancient need to mark the darkness of winter with my little bit of light. My answer to my husband's question is that I believe one of the most important things I can do while I am on this planet is honor those I love through celebrations. And the older I get, the more I believe it. When my children were small, their father lost his job. It took a decade to recover emotionally and financially. Hot water and electricity were luxuries that weren't always available. Meals were a challenge, I tried to hide it from them but I was constantly afraid of losing our home. Those celebrations were so sparse, the future so uncertain, that the ground seemed to be shifting beneath us. So now celebrations mean that much more to me. This year I polished the silver, lit the candles, made sure Spriger Holly was carefully tagged above every window, I served a twelve dollar a bottle of wine instead of a seven dollar one. I bought lamb chops instead of a roast, little things, just so we’d remember this day, this night. I believe that in this world there is and always has been so much sadness and sorrow, so much uncertainty. That if we did not set aside time for merriment, gifts, music and laughter with family and friends, we might just forget to celebrate altogether. We just plod along in life. I believe in the importance of celebrations. As my family's designated celebrator, I may be tired, and I may not have done all I set out to do. But I believe that this year I celebrated the ones I love. And I hope with all my heart that I celebrated them well. Melinda Shoaf with her essay for this I believe, as many essayists do, Shoaf read her essay first to her children. Her daughter said " Now I understand ." To contribute your statement to our series and to see what others have written, visit our website npr.org. For this I believe. I'm Jay Alleson. Next Monday, on morning edition, a This I Believe essay from Sacramento listener Backy Hers, her husband is serving in Iraq. Sopport for This I Believe comes from Capella University. This I Believe is produced for NPR by This I Believe incorporated Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit npr.org/thisibelieve. Support for NPR Podcasts comes from Acura featuring the completely redesigned 300 horsepower MDX. More information is available at acura.com. ------------------ Sacramento 萨克拉曼多(美国加州首府) |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/NPR2007/40960.html |