Jay Hasheider

Moving away from home is both a good and a sad thing. It is every childs and every parents goal to eventually achieve separation， but it is nevertheless sad when it happens. So it was with heavy hearts on a Sunday in August that my son and I worked to prepare his car for a milestone journey—the day he moved across the country after 20 years of living under my roof.

We started early， but our work went slowly into the afternoon. The Sunday baseball game came on. Our hometown Cardinals were playing the Atlanta Braves.

I 1）overheard bits of the TV broadcast—Atlanta took a two-run lead as we were packing the trunk. The score stayed the same as we fixed snacks for his trip. After that I became absorbed in 2）glum thoughts about his departure and completely forgot about the game. I was stuffing the back seat with the last items when I heard the door open. “Dad，” he said， “come on in. Lets watch the rest of the game. Theyre only down by a run.”

His red-colored eyes instantly told me that he， too， found this to be a difficult passage and that he， too， wanted to share one last father-son moment. Without hesitation I led the way to the TV set. There， we found the game in the ninth 3）inning with the Cards still losing 3–1. “Oh，” he said， “theyre down two 4）runs. Never mind.” His voice cracked with doubt. “I thought they were coming back.”

離家是一件亦喜亦悲的事情。每個孩子都盼著離開父母自力更生，每個父母也都希望孩子長大成人可以獨立，但當這一刻真正來臨時，彼此仍然會感到悲傷。八月份的一個星期天，我和兒子懷著沉重的心情打包行李裝車，為兒子即將踏上里程碑式的旅程做準備——一起生活了二十年之后，他終于要離開我的庇護，遠走他鄉(xiāng)了。

我們很早開始收拾，但還是收拾到了下午。星期日棒球賽開賽了。我們圣路易斯的紅雀隊對亞特蘭大勇士隊。

在裝備后備廂的時候，我不經意聽見電視廣播，亞特蘭大領先兩分了。直到我們準備路上的零食時，比分還是一樣。之后我完全沉浸在離別的陰郁思緒中，徹底忘記了比賽。我在往后座塞最后的行李時聽見門開了?！鞍职?，”兒子說道，“進來吧。我們把比賽看完。他們只落后一分了?！?/p>

看見他紅紅的眼睛，我馬上就知道他也同樣覺得分離艱難，他也想共度離別前最后的父子時刻。我毫不猶豫地向電視機走去。那時，我們發(fā)現比賽到了第九局，比分3比1，紅雀隊落后?！班蓿眱鹤诱f道，“他們還落后兩分。那算了?！彼硢〉穆曇糁袔е鴳岩??！拔疫€以為他們正追上來呢?！?/p>

“Thats fine，” I said， wanting so much to stretch this last moment before he left. “Lets watch anyway.”

The Cards got to bat last. First a single， then another， followed by an infield hit that loaded the bases. Suddenly the game became very interesting. As 5）David Eckstein walked up to the 6）plate with one out， the drama of the game took us over. The sadness of that day was replaced 7）momentarily by watching an exciting baseball game， something we had done many times before.

Thats when the magic moment came. When David Eckstein parked the third pitch into the seats. It was a 8）come-from-behind， 9）walk-off， 10）grand-slam home run， only his fifth home run of the season.

In that one moment we were 11）transformed， 12）ecstatically jumping up and down and experiencing a joy that I could never imagine happening on that 13）bittersweet afternoon. It was a wonderful feeling that made the day， the trip， our life， seem so right.

And then he left.

I believe in magical moments that happen when I least expect them. The joy—amidst the sadness—that we both experienced that afternoon was a gift， a 14）divine presence. Such moments cannot be planned， or even hoped for. They are gifts that appear and then disappear， just like my son as he drove off that afternoon to start a new chapter in his life.

“不要緊，”我說道，多么想在他走之前盡量延續(xù)著最后相處的時刻?！盁o論如何，我們還是看比賽吧?！?/p>

最后輪到紅雀隊擊球。先是擊出一壘安打，然后又一個一壘安打，接著是擊出內野安打造成了滿壘。比賽瞬間變得很精彩，當大衛(wèi)·艾克斯坦踏上本壘并有一次出局時，比賽戲劇性的轉變把我們完全吸引住了。那天的悲傷頃刻間被觀看激烈的棒球比賽取代。我們父子倆以前就常常一起看球賽。

這時，奇跡一刻來臨了。大衛(wèi)·艾克斯坦將第三次投球擊到了觀眾席上。這是轉敗為勝的一球，是再見全壘打，是滿壘時的本壘打，這是他本賽季的第五次本壘打。

那一刻，我們的心情徹底不一樣了，欣喜若狂地跳躍著，感受著一種喜悅，我無法想象這種喜悅會發(fā)生在這個苦樂參半的下午。這種奇妙的感覺，使得那天、那趟旅程和我們的生活顯得如此穩(wěn)妥安然。

然后，兒子離開了。

我相信不經意間發(fā)生的神奇時刻。我們那天下午體驗到的是夾雜在悲傷中的喜悅，它是一份禮物，一個神圣的存在。誰也無法事先策劃，甚至祈望這樣的時刻。它們是出現、然后又消失的禮物，就像我兒子一樣，他在那天開車離去，開始了他生命的新篇章。翻譯：Cass