你什么時候意識到你的孩子不再是個孩子了？

When did you realize your child was no longer a child?

你什么時候意識到你的孩子不再是個孩子了？

Eileen Rioux
We arranged a trip to scatter my father's ashes in Aravaipa canyon, a remote area in Arizona that requires visitors to request a permit. My BIL rented a large van so we could all travel together. The group included me, my husband, my two sons (maybe 10 and 15 at the time) my sister and BIL, my two nephews (aprx 19 and 22) and my mother.

我們安排了一次旅行，將我父親的骨灰撒在亞利桑那州的阿拉瓦伊帕峽谷，這是一個偏遠地區(qū)，游客需要申請許可證。我的姐夫租了一輛大型貨車，以便我們能夠一起旅行。團隊包括我、我的丈夫、我的兩個兒子（當(dāng)時大約10歲和15歲）、我的姐姐和姐夫、我的兩個侄子（大約19歲和22歲）以及我的母親。

Despite my emphasizing that the drive includes crossing shallow running water, and if course mud, I think it was wetter than some of them were expecting.

盡管我強調(diào)了這段路程包括穿越淺灘流水，當(dāng)然還有泥濘，但我覺得這比他們中的一些人預(yù)想的要更濕。

We were walking in the river in a strung out line, me, my sons and my mom a fair amount ahead of my nephews who were a bit ahead of their parents. My son was carrying a backpack full of sandwich supplies and everyone had their own baggie of ashes.

我們沿著河邊走成一條線，我、我的兒子們和我的媽媽走在前面，離我的侄子們有一段距離，而侄子們又比他們的父母稍微靠前。我兒子背著一個裝滿三明治材料的背包，每個人都拿著自己的一小袋骨灰。

Suddenly we heard a scream. My thoughts went to ‘someone is being attacked by an animal’ then, ‘someone fell off a cliff’. My oldest dropped the backpack and took off running to help, shouting for us to stay where we were. I tried to pick up the pack but it was too heavy for me to lift .

突然我們聽到了一聲尖叫。我的思緒先是‘有人被動物襲擊了’，然后是‘有人從懸崖上掉下去了’。我的大兒子扔下背包，跑過去幫忙，并喊我們待在原地。我試圖撿起背包，但它太重了，我提不起來。

When I got back to the group I found my younger nephew had fainted face first in to the water and stopped breathing. It was his father, my BIL, who screamed when he e found him.

當(dāng)我回到團隊時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的小侄子臉朝下暈倒在水里，停止了呼吸。是他的父親，也就是我的姐夫，在發(fā)現(xiàn)他時尖叫了起來。

Later we would find out my nephew had stayed up all night gaming and started his day with energy drinks and stomach medicine. When he passed out, his face hit the cold water triggering the 
divers reflex which stopped his breathing temporarily.

后來我們會發(fā)現(xiàn)，我的侄子整晚都在玩游戲，并以能量飲料和胃藥開始他的一天。當(dāng)他昏倒時，他的臉碰到了冷水，觸發(fā)了潛水反射，暫時停止了他的呼吸。

Anyway, I got back to the group to find my son and husband taking charge of the situation. He helped get him back to the van where my BIL asked my husband to drive as he was still very shaken and my nephew was still not fully conscious.

無論如何，我回到小組時發(fā)現(xiàn)我的兒子和丈夫正在掌控局面。他幫助把他帶回了面包車，在那里我的姐夫請求我丈夫開車，因為他仍然非常震驚，而我的侄子還沒有完全恢復(fù)意識。

We stood outside as my husband started the van as it was mired in the mud . As the wheels spun unproductivity my son darted forward to throw something under the wheels so the could gain traction. I wanted to stop him but I knew it would be dangerous to distract him and he had it under control.

我們站在外面，我丈夫啟動了陷入泥中的貨車。當(dāng)車輪徒勞地旋轉(zhuǎn)時，我兒子迅速沖上前去，往車輪下扔了些東西，以便車輪能獲得牽引力。我想阻止他，但我知道分散他的注意力會很危險，而且他控制得很好。

We all jumped in and drove out to find a cell signal. My older nephew somewhat bungled the 911 call triggering a helicopter ride that was an overreaction.

我們都跳上車，開出去尋找手機信號。我的大侄子有點搞砸了911電話，結(jié)果引發(fā)了一次直升機出動，這有點反應(yīng)過度了。

This was the moment I realized my son was basically a grown man, and everyone had treated him as so during the emergency.

這一刻我意識到，我的兒子基本上已經(jīng)是個成年人了，在緊急情況下，每個人都這樣對待他。

When my son was in the eighth grade, he got suspended and I had to leave work early to go get him. When I got there, I asked the principal what had happened. The principal explained that my son had beaten up three other boys and even broke one boy's wrist. I was obviously horrified and asked my son what the fuck he was thinking. He simply told me that the boys had cornered one of his friends and were trying to make her strip for them. Being the chivalrous boy I raised him to be, he put a stop to it. I asked the principal if it was true and he dodged the question. In response to that, I told the school that if they're going to allow sexual harassment, I didn't want my child to attend and took him home. I told my son that I was going to take him out of public schools. He replied by telling me that he didn't want to leave the school because of he wasn't there then who was going to stop it from happening again.

當(dāng)我兒子上八年級時，他被停學(xué)了，我不得不提前下班去接他。到了學(xué)校后，我問校長發(fā)生了什么事。校長解釋說，我兒子打了另外三個男孩，甚至弄斷了一個男孩的手腕。我顯然很震驚，問我兒子他到底在想什么。他只是告訴我，那些男孩把他朋友逼到角落，試圖讓她脫衣服。作為我培養(yǎng)的騎士精神的男孩，他阻止了這件事。我問校長這是否屬實，他回避了這個問題。作為回應(yīng)，我告訴學(xué)校，如果他們允許性騷擾，我不想讓我的孩子繼續(xù)在這里上學(xué)，并帶他回家了。我告訴我兒子，我要把他從公立學(xué)校帶走。他回答說，他不想離開學(xué)校，因為如果他不在了，誰來阻止這種事情再次發(fā)生。

This is when I realized my little boy had become a man. He would rather get in trouble to protect a friend than stay out of the spotlight and potentially face long term consequences.

這時我意識到我的小男孩已經(jīng)成長為一個男人。他寧愿惹上麻煩也要保護朋友，而不是避開聚光燈，可能面臨長期的后果。

Edit: I feel the need to point out that my son also got his ass kicked (and to be frank, “beat up” was probably the wrong term to use [a bit exaggerated] when describing what he did to those three boys). I assumed that was implied, but oh well. What can you do? The police were called and the bullies' parents didn't press charges as long as the girl's parents didn't either. The school penalized all three boys and the girl's mother and I are very close friends now.

編輯：我覺得有必要指出，我兒子也被打了（說實話，用“打”這個詞來形容他對那三個男孩的行為可能有點夸張了）。我原以為這是不言而喻的，但好吧，能怎么辦呢？警察被叫來了，霸凌者的父母沒有提出指控，只要女孩的父母也不追究。學(xué)校處罰了那三個男孩，現(xiàn)在我和女孩的母親成了非常親密的朋友。

Al V
My 10-year-old son and I walked together to the high school football game 5 or 6 blocks from home. When we were a block away he said, “Can you just give me the money for the ticket and I’ll get it myself.” I instinctively knew that he wanted his independence and did not want anyone (especially his friends) to see him come in with his dad. I gladly handed him the money with a smile but also with the awareness that things would never be the same. Sadness and joy all mixed together. P.S. He did manage to find me at halftime for concession money.

我和我10歲的兒子一起步行到家附近五六條街區(qū)外的高中橄欖球比賽。當(dāng)我們離場地還有一個街區(qū)時，他說：“你能直接把票錢給我嗎？我自己去買?！蔽冶灸艿匾庾R到他想要獨立，不想讓任何人（尤其是他的朋友）看到他和他爸爸一起進場。我微笑著高興地把錢遞給了他，但同時也意識到事情將不再一樣。悲傷和喜悅交織在一起。附注：他確實在中場休息時找到了我，要了買零食的錢。

Tori Walker
He was 12 at the time. I had given him a 6pm curfew. He needed to be home to eat dinner and do his homework. I understood that he biked home after school and hung out at his friend's house, which is about a half block away. So one day he was late. It's 6:15 and no son. I'm upset and worried.

他當(dāng)時12歲。我規(guī)定他晚上6點必須回家。他需要回家吃晚飯并做作業(yè)。我知道他放學(xué)后騎車回家，然后在他朋友家玩，朋友家大約半個街區(qū)遠。所以有一天他遲到了。已經(jīng)6點15分了，兒子還沒回來。我既生氣又擔(dān)心。

He comes home and tells me that their friend, Jenny * had come over to play Mario Kart with them, and he wanted to walk her back to her house because it was getting late. So he walked his bike next to her and walked her to her door before he came home.

他回到家告訴我，他們的朋友珍妮*過來和他們一起玩馬里奧賽車，因為天色已晚，他想送她回家。所以他推著自行車陪她走到她家門口，然后才回家。

I admit, I was a bit skeptical. I let it go with a "be home on time tomorrow". As excuses go, that was a damn good one, so a little pass was given. I half believed him, but didn't really think that was the reason. I was wrong.

我承認，我有點懷疑。我只是說了句“明天準(zhǔn)時回家”就放他走了。就借口而言，那是個相當(dāng)不錯的借口，所以我稍微放了他一馬。我半信半疑，但并沒有真的認為那是原因。我錯了。

Her mom called me the next day and thanked me. She was nervous about letting her daughter hang out with BOYS. She thanked me for my son walking her daughter home. That is when I realized that he had become a young man. Who can weigh decisions. Worried mom, or walk a younger, smaller person home safe.

她媽媽第二天打電話給我并向我道謝。她對于讓女兒和男孩們一起出去玩感到緊張。她感謝我兒子送她女兒回家。那時我意識到他已經(jīng)成為一個年輕人了，能夠權(quán)衡決定。是讓擔(dān)心的媽媽放心，還是安全地送一個更小、更年幼的人回家。

He's almost 14 now, and has earned my trust. When Jenny hangs out, he makes sure he walks her home. She lives about 3 blocks away. Her mom and I have become friends. Unknown to him, she texts me when he drops her off. She's his friend. Even when he was "dating" someone else, he would still make sure she got home safe.

他現(xiàn)在快14歲了，已經(jīng)贏得了我的信任。當(dāng)珍妮出去玩時，他會確保送她回家。她住的地方大約有三個街區(qū)遠。她的媽媽和我已經(jīng)成了朋友。他不知道的是，每次他送她回家后，她都會給我發(fā)短信。她是他的朋友。即使他在‘約會’別人時，他仍然會確保她安全到家。

I'm not saying it right. She's one of the guys. A friend. She just lives a few blocks over. As a woman who was once the girl who was one of the guys, I get it. I like her. She's a good friend to him.

我沒說對。她是哥們兒之一。一個朋友。她就住在幾個街區(qū)之外。作為一個曾經(jīng)也是“哥們兒”之一的女孩，我理解。我喜歡她。她對他來說是個好朋友。

My son, as the one who looks out for her? That's not a kid’s decision. That's a young man that I am proud of. I got him a cell phone so it's not the same now, but I remember that night when he told me that he was just making sure his friend got home safe. Then getting the phone call thanking me. That's when I knew, I had a young man, not a little boy.

我的兒子，作為照顧她的人？這不是一個孩子的決定。這是一個讓我感到驕傲的年輕人。我給他買了一部手機，所以現(xiàn)在情況不同了，但我記得那天晚上他告訴我，他只是確保他的朋友安全到家。然后接到電話感謝我。那時我知道，我有一個年輕人，而不是一個小男孩。

her name has been changed.

她的名字已被更改。

Michelle Alamo
I was a legal secretary working in a NYC midtown office and my husband was a law librarian at a different firm not far from mine. We had just moved from the Bronx and bought a house in New Jersey a year before. We moved into our house in July. My daughter was 3 going on 4 years old and my son had just turned 11 (the whole family are summer babies). That first summer my mom came to stay with us to watch our kids, then went back to her home in the Bronx when school started. We put our daughter in a daycare after my mom left and, since my son was 11 years old and there was a middle school right around our block, I decided to let him stay on his own as long as he went straight home right after school and not leave or have friends over until we got home from work, which was around 6:00 p.m. Even though I trusted him, he goofed off with not getting his homework done. Even though I told him to get it done by the time we got home, he would just watch tv. We couldn’t afford to pay for both of them to get watched, so I let him continue staying on his own.

我曾是紐約市中城一家律師事務(wù)所的法律秘書，我丈夫在離我不遠的另一家律師事務(wù)所擔(dān)任法律圖書管理員。我們剛從布朗克斯搬來，一年前在新澤西買了一棟房子。我們在七月搬進了新家。我女兒當(dāng)時3歲，快4歲了，兒子剛滿11歲（全家都是夏天出生的）。那個夏天，我媽媽來和我們住在一起，幫忙照看孩子，開學(xué)后她就回到了她在布朗克斯的家。媽媽離開后，我們把女兒送去了日托中心，而兒子已經(jīng)11歲了，我們家附近就有一所中學(xué)，所以我決定讓他自己待在家里，只要他放學(xué)后直接回家，不離開家或讓朋友來玩，直到我們下班回家，大約在下午6點。盡管我信任他，但他還是偷懶，沒有完成作業(yè)。盡管我告訴他要在我們回家前完成作業(yè)，他還是只看電視。我們負擔(dān)不起同時照看他們兩個的費用，所以我讓他繼續(xù)自己待在家里。

The following summer my mom stayed over again to watch my kids and then went back to her house after school started. By that time my kids were ages 12 and 5. Then, one beautiful Tuesday morning I walked from the Port Authority bus station to the lobby of my office building and as I waited for the elevator I heard one of my co-workers saying a plane had just crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. To everyone who has read my answer this far, I’m sure you all know the day I am speaking of was September 11, 2001.

接下來的夏天，我媽媽再次過來照看我的孩子們，然后在學(xué)校開學(xué)后回到了她自己的家。那時，我的孩子們分別是12歲和5歲。然后，在一個美麗的周二早晨，我從港務(wù)局巴士站步行到我辦公大樓的大廳，當(dāng)我等電梯時，聽到一位同事說一架飛機剛剛撞上了世貿(mào)中心的一棟大樓。對于讀到這里的每個人，我相信你們都知道我說的那天是2001年9月11日。

As soon as I got off the elevator, I rushed to my desk and turned on my radio…all the attorneys and other co-workers surrounded me as we all listened to the horror and disbelief unfolding on that terrible day. First, One World Trade Center got hit, then soon after we heard the newscaster saying another plane crashed into the second World Trade Center building. Then another plane crashed into the Pentagon building, then again another plane getting hijacked, though that one crashed into an empty field in Pennsylvania. We were all wondering when it will ever stop. Then the worst news out of it all came on when the newscaster said that One World Trade Center was crashing to the ground. Then again the second building crashing down. We were all in shock and crying, knowing almost 3,000 people in those buildings were killed within minutes. I was panicking trying to call my children to no avail since all the phonelines were jammed and no one could get through.

我一出電梯就沖向我的辦公桌，打開了收音機……所有的律師和其他同事都圍在我身邊，我們一起聽著那個可怕的日子發(fā)生的恐怖和難以置信的事件。首先，世貿(mào)中心一號樓被撞擊，然后不久我們聽到新聞播音員說另一架飛機撞上了世貿(mào)中心二號樓。接著，另一架飛機撞上了五角大樓，然后又有一架飛機被劫持，盡管那架飛機最終墜毀在賓夕法尼亞州的一片空地上。我們都在想這一切何時才能結(jié)束。然后，最糟糕的消息傳來，新聞播音員說世貿(mào)中心一號樓正在倒塌。接著，第二座大樓也倒塌了。我們都震驚不已，哭泣著，知道那幾分鐘內(nèi)幾乎有3000人在那些大樓中喪生。我驚慌失措地試圖打電話給我的孩子們，但毫無用處，因為所有的電話線路都堵塞了，沒有人能打通。

I finally ran out to try to get home, but all the public transportation stopped running and I had no idea how to get back to New Jersey. Then I thought of my husband. Since his building was not far from mine, I walked there to meet him. We left together trying to figure out how to get home to our kids. We decided to see if the ferry going to New Jersey was working. We walked more than 50 blocks downtown and, fortunately, we were able to see they were taking passengers. We waited on line for two hours to finally board. The ferry crossed the Hudson River as we all watched fixated looking at that huge, ugly, black mushroom shaped gas lingering right above where the World Trade Center had once stood. When we finally got to New Jersey, we had to take two long bus rides to a train station and transferred to three different trains before we got to get off a train in a town closest to ours. Once again we walked about another mile to finally get to our car. It took us more than 5 hours to get to our car where my husband always parked right by the daycare, but when we got there we saw a sign saying the daycare was closed! I got hysterical, but my husband tried to calm me down and told me to go home and see if the kids were there. When we got there we saw a note on the door telling us that he was in his friend’s house across the street from us. As soon as we got to his house I saw both our kids standing in my neighbor’s livingroom. I was so relieved I ran right to them and hugged them so tight I didn’t want to let them go. When I finally released them, my neighbor told me that my son went to her house right after the school let them out and asked if she could drive him over to the daycare to pick up his little sister.

我終于跑出去想回家，但所有的公共交通都停運了，我不知道怎么回新澤西。然后我想到了我丈夫。因為他的辦公樓離我的不遠，我就走過去找他。我們一起離開，試圖想辦法回家看我們的孩子。我們決定看看去新澤西的渡輪是否還在運行。我們在市中心走了50多個街區(qū)，幸運的是，我們看到他們還在載客。我們排隊等了兩個小時才終于上了船。渡輪穿過哈德遜河時，我們都目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地看著那個巨大、丑陋、黑色的蘑菇形氣體，它正懸浮在世貿(mào)中心曾經(jīng)矗立的地方上方。當(dāng)我們終于到達新澤西時，我們不得不乘坐兩趟長途巴士到火車站，然后換乘了三趟不同的火車，才在我們家附近的一個小鎮(zhèn)下了火車。我們又走了一英里左右，終于到了我們的車。我們花了五個多小時才到車那里，我丈夫總是把車停在日托中心旁邊，但當(dāng)我們到達時，我們看到一個牌子說日托中心關(guān)門了！我變得歇斯底里，但我丈夫試圖讓我冷靜下來，告訴我要回家看看孩子們是否在那里。當(dāng)我們到家時，我們看到門上有一張紙條，告訴我們他在我們街對面的朋友家里。我們一到他家，我就看到我們的兩個孩子站在我鄰居的客廳里。我如釋重負，立刻跑過去緊緊抱住他們，不想放手。當(dāng)我終于放開他們時，我鄰居告訴我，我兒子放學(xué)后直接去了她家，問她是否可以開車帶他去日托中心接他的妹妹。

It was on that horrible, unforgettable day that will forever be one of the worst days in American history that I discovered my son became a responsible young man. I was never more proud and grateful to have a son like him.

在那個可怕、難忘的日子，那將永遠是美國歷史上最糟糕的日子之一，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的兒子成為了一個負責(zé)任的年輕人。我從未如此自豪和感激擁有像他這樣的兒子。

He enlisted into the Marine Reserves right after he graduated from high school, spent a semester in a community college when they called him in and deployed him to Iraq. He spent 9 months during that seemingly unending war when he came back. He spent 8 years in the Marines till he was honorably discharged then he joined the Army where he still is today. He was a truck driver when he was in the Marines, but he didn’t like it. Now he’s a Sergeant in the Army and is doing journalism which he’s much happier with. He intends on staying at least up to 20 years to get his full pension. I’m so very proud to call him my son.

他高中畢業(yè)后立即加入了海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊預(yù)備役，在社區(qū)大學(xué)讀了一個學(xué)期后，他們召他入伍并派遣他到伊拉克。在那場看似無休止的戰(zhàn)爭中，他在那里度過了9個月，然后回國。他在海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊服役了8年，直到光榮退役，之后他加入了陸軍，至今仍在服役。他在海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊時是一名卡車司機，但他并不喜歡這份工作?，F(xiàn)在他是陸軍的一名中士，從事新聞工作，對此他感到更加快樂。他打算至少服役20年以獲得全額養(yǎng)老金。我非常自豪能稱他為我的兒子。

My daughter graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is now working full time at an administrative position while taking graduate classes to become a theater teacher. She also does part time work as a teacher’s assistant. She’s always on the go, but (as I tell her) at least I get to see her whenever she comes over to visit my washer & dryer (hee hee). My two kids are great!

我的女兒以最優(yōu)等成績獲得了美術(shù)學(xué)士學(xué)位，現(xiàn)在在一份行政職位上全職工作，同時還在上研究生課程，以成為一名戲劇老師。她還兼職做助教。她總是忙個不停，但（正如我告訴她的）至少她每次來我家用我的洗衣機和烘干機時，我都能見到她（嘿嘿）。我的兩個孩子都很棒！

Ayala Choma
She was about 13. My late husband, her father, was hospitalized but not in any great danger. We spent the first day of Passover in the hospital with him, which was a pretty miserable experiance. When the last day of Passover came around and he was still not home, I was going to take a double occupancy room for us in the hotel near the hospital where we had slept. “Single room.” she told me. “I’ve made other arrangements for myself.” I asked to know what the arrangements were. She reeled them off. She was invited to a different girlfriend for each meal. She was going with still another to synagogue. Two more were going to sleep over at our place so she wouldn’t feel alone. She had cooked some dish to bring with her to one of the meals where she felt that was appropriate. (And had cleaned up so well that I hadn’t noticed.) I was stunned by the quiet competence. But I was a bit worried about how her father would take it until she said. “I told Aba I would come next time and give you a break. He’s okay with it.”

她大約13歲。我已故的丈夫，她的父親，當(dāng)時住院了，但并沒有太大的危險。我們在醫(yī)院和他一起度過了逾越節(jié)的第一天，那是一次相當(dāng)糟糕的經(jīng)歷。當(dāng)逾越節(jié)的最后一天到來時，他仍然沒有回家，我打算在醫(yī)院附近的酒店為我們預(yù)訂一間雙人房，我們之前曾在那里過夜。“單人間?！彼嬖V我?！拔乙呀?jīng)為自己做了其他安排?！蔽以儐査才帕耸裁?。她一一列舉出來。她受邀在不同的女友家吃每一頓飯。她還要和另一個朋友一起去猶太教堂。還有兩個朋友要來我們家過夜，這樣她就不會感到孤單。她還為其中一頓飯準(zhǔn)備了一道菜，覺得帶過去很合適。（而且她收拾得如此干凈，我都沒有注意到。）我被她那安靜的能力驚呆了。但我有點擔(dān)心她父親會怎么想，直到她說：“我告訴阿爸我下次會來，給你一個休息的機會。他對此沒有意見?！?br />
My mother is a diabetic, type 2 if you’re at all interested. We were coming home from a day out and she was driving home with my 2 sons in the car with her. My husband, sister, daughter and myself were in our car following. As she approached a slip road, a left hand drive lorry(semi) pulled out, side swiped her and forced her on to the hard shoulder. The front wing was crumpled and the front passenger door was buckled. Luckily no one was hurt, but the car was a goner.

我的母親是一名2型糖尿病患者，如果你感興趣的話。我們一天外出后回家，她開車帶著我的兩個兒子。我的丈夫、姐姐、女兒和我則坐在我們的車里跟在后面。當(dāng)她接近一個匝道時，一輛左舵的卡車（半掛車）突然駛出，側(cè)面擦撞了她，迫使她駛?cè)刖o急停車帶。前翼子板被撞皺，前乘客門也變形了。幸運的是沒有人受傷，但車子報廢了。

We called the insurance people, the lorry had carried on but Mum had a partial number plate. Obviously, we had a problem. 7 people, room for 5 in the car.

我們聯(lián)系了保險公司，卡車已經(jīng)開走了，但媽媽記下了部分車牌號。顯然，我們遇到了問題。7個人，車里只能坐5個人。

I told my husband, “take the kids and Sis home, I’ll stay with Mum.”

我告訴我的丈夫，“帶孩子們和妹妹回家，我會留下來陪媽媽。”

It was then that my eldest son, my quiet ten year old shy boy, stepped forward. He looked in to my eyes and announced “Ladies don’t stand about in the dark without anyone there. That’s a MAN’S job. I’M staying with my grandma! Dad, please take my mammy, my auntie and my sister home. Grandma will be alright. She has ME!”

就在那時，我那年僅十歲、安靜害羞的大兒子走上前來。他直視著我的眼睛，宣布道：“女士們不應(yīng)該在沒有人的黑暗中站著。那是男人的工作。我要和奶奶在一起！爸爸，請帶媽媽、姑姑和妹妹回家。奶奶會沒事的。她有我在！”

He simply would not take no for an answer, we refused to leave him so waited with them, and once the tow truck arrived he got in to it saying “Ok, we’re safe. Daddy take everyone home please. Grandma is safe, I’M staying with her!”

他就是不肯接受拒絕的答案，我們拒絕離開他，所以和他們一起等待，一旦拖車到達，他就上了車，說：“好了，我們安全了。爸爸，請帶大家回家。奶奶安全了，我要和她在一起！”

He is now a tall and handsome 17 year old, and he still protects his grandma like she was the crown jewels. Grandma wants, my son gets it for her. We went on holiday to Norfolk, he spent his time chilling out with his grandma and looking after her. His choice.

他現(xiàn)在是一個高大英俊的17歲少年，仍然像保護皇冠上的珠寶一樣保護著他的奶奶。奶奶想要什么，我的兒子就會為她得到。我們?nèi)ブZ?？硕燃贂r，他把時間都花在陪伴和照顧奶奶上。這是他的選擇。

He’s an amazing man, and I am proud he is my son.

他是一個了不起的人，我為他是我兒子感到自豪。

Katy Morris
My daughter was about 12 and had never been away from home really for more than a day. Then she was invited to get on an airplane and fly from Seattle to Florida to spend like 6 weeks with her best friend. She cried her little heart out getting on the plane because she was so terrified. The airline stewardess let her serve drinks and she had a good flight. She called me every night crying being homesick and because her best friend wasn't as much of a night owl as my daughter. I told her I'd try to get her a flight home but she seemed content with just calling every night and crying a bit.. after about 4 weeks the calls slowed down. By the time she came home she had not only grown about 4 inches but also just looked and acted so much more mature. She's now 22 and I still tell her that that was the day my baby grew up. She's flown many times as an adult now including back to Florida about 4 times. Most recently was the week before Christmas this year.

我的女兒大約12歲，之前從未真正離開家超過一天。后來她被邀請乘坐飛機從西雅圖飛往佛羅里達，和她最好的朋友一起度過大約6周的時間。登機時她哭得很傷心，因為她非常害怕。空乘人員讓她幫忙分發(fā)飲料，她度過了一個愉快的飛行。她每晚都給我打電話，因為想家和她的好朋友不像她那樣是夜貓子而哭泣。我告訴她我會盡量安排她回家，但她似乎滿足于每晚打電話并哭一會兒。大約4周后，電話逐漸減少了。當(dāng)她回家時，她不僅長高了大約4英寸，而且看起來和表現(xiàn)得更加成熟。她現(xiàn)在22歲了，我仍然告訴她，那是我的寶貝長大的那一天。成年后她已經(jīng)飛了很多次，包括回到佛羅里達大約4次。最近一次是在今年圣誕節(jié)前一周。

Judy Mitchell
My youngest is five years younger than her siblings and when her older siblings attended a martial arts school she started also at age 3 and attended all throughout high school. anyway when she was in 9th grade she decided to do color guard for our marching band. I did not attend the first football game but received a phone call from the principal and band instructor asking me to come to the school asap my daughter needed picked up. I get there and my daughter had a sprained wrist I asked what happened. Apparently one of the girls was dating a football player and he caught the girlfriend texting someone on her cellphone and smacked the girl my daughter saw it sent the girl inside the bathroom and physically put herself between the boy and the bathroom door told him he wasn’t getting inside and he laughed and told her he was a football player and much bigger than my daughter. To which apparently my daughter advised him size didn’t matter and if he thought he’d get away with smacking her the way he did his girlfriend he was welcome to try but she wouldn’t advise it. The boy approached while trying to throw a punch my daughter managed to sidestep and used some of her martial arts to bring the boy to his knees he did manage to grab her arm and twist her wrist causing the sprain before three nearby guys caught and held him until school staff managed to intervene. My daughter kept herself positioned to make sure no one got into the bathroom until the football player was hauled away by the coach. At that point she allowed herself to be treated and had the school call me. She looked at me and told me I’m probably going to be suspended for this but I’d do it again. Fortunately the school did have surveillance cameras that caught him throwing the punch at my daughter so they decided she wouldn’t be suspended but the fact that she knew she could be and still said she’d do it again made me realize she was ready accept a more adult role. Don’t get me wrong there were plenty of times in the rest of her growing up years that she still was a kid but that was the first moment I realized how grown she was.

我最小的孩子比她的兄弟姐妹小五歲，當(dāng)她的哥哥姐姐們?nèi)ド衔湫g(shù)學(xué)校時，她也在三歲時開始學(xué)習(xí)，并一直持續(xù)到高中。無論如何，當(dāng)她上九年級時，她決定為我們學(xué)校的行進樂隊做旗手。我沒有參加第一場足球比賽，但接到了校長和樂隊指導(dǎo)老師的電話，要求我盡快到學(xué)校接我的女兒。我到達那里時，發(fā)現(xiàn)我女兒的手腕扭傷了，我問發(fā)生了什么事。顯然，其中一個女孩正在和一個足球運動員約會，他抓到女朋友在用手機發(fā)短信，于是打了那個女孩。我女兒看到了，把那個女孩送進了洗手間，并用自己的身體擋在男孩和洗手間門之間，告訴他他不能進去。男孩笑了，說他是個足球運動員，比我女兒大得多。對此，我女兒告訴他，大小并不重要，如果他認為他可以像打他女朋友那樣打她，他可以試試，但她不建議他這么做。男孩試圖出拳時，我女兒設(shè)法躲開，并用她的一些武術(shù)技巧將男孩打倒在地。男孩確實抓住了她的手臂并扭傷了她的手腕，導(dǎo)致扭傷，直到附近的三個男孩抓住并按住他，直到學(xué)校工作人員介入。我女兒一直保持位置，確保沒有人進入洗手間，直到教練把足球運動員帶走。那時，她允許自己被治療，并讓學(xué)校打電話給我。她看著我說，我可能會因此被停學(xué)，但我會再做一次。幸運的是，學(xué)校確實有監(jiān)控攝像頭拍到了他向我女兒出拳的畫面，所以他們決定不讓她停學(xué)，但事實上她知道可能會被停學(xué)，仍然說她愿意再做一次，這讓我意識到她已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好承擔(dān)更成人的角色。別誤會，在她成長的其余時間里，她仍然是個孩子，但那是第一次我意識到她有多成熟。