A few days later， my dad was back. This time to stay，we never talked about the letter， my dad and I. I guess I always figure that it was something that was a secret between us.
My parents went on to be married a total of 36 years before my dad’s early death， at the age of 53， cut short their lives together. In the last 16 years of my parents‘marriage， I and all those who knew my mom and dad witnessed one of the truly“great”marriages. When mom and dad received the news from the doctor that his heart was deteriorating rapidly， they took it hand in hand， side by side， all the way.
After dad’s death we had the most unpleasant task of going through his things. I have never liked this task and opted to run errands so I did not have to be there while most of the things were divided and boxed up. When I got back from my errands， my brother said，“Kristi， mom said to give this to you. She said you would know what it meant.”
As I looked down into his outstretched hand it was then that I knew the impact of my letter that day so long ago. In my brother‘s hand was my picture that I gave my dad that day， my unsentimental dad， who never let his emotions get the best of him. My dad， who almost never outwardly showed his love for me， had kept the one thing that meant so much to him and me.
I sat down and the tears began to flow. Tears that I thought had dried up from the grief of his death， but that had now found new life as I realized what I meant to him. Mom told me that dad kept both the picture and that letter his whole life.
I have a box in my home that I call the“Dad box”. In it are so many things that remind me of my Dad. I pull that picture out every once in awhile and remember. I remember a promise that was made many years ago between a young man and his bride on their wedding day. And I remember the unspoken promise that was made between a father and his daughter...A promise kept.
任何男人都可以成为父亲，但不是每个人都能做一位好父亲。
参考翻译（佚名）
我父亲不是一个容易动感情的人，我不记得他曾对我小时候所做的事表示过惊讶或感叹之情。不过请别误会，我知道我的父亲是爱我的，只是他从不善于表达罢了。我明白他在用其他方式证明他对我的爱，这一点在一个特别的时刻真真切切发生了。
我一直以为父母的婚姻很美满，我是四个孩子中最小的一个，但就在不久以前，在我刚满16岁时，我的这一看法受到了考验。
以前我的父亲经常帮助家里分担一些家务，最近却常常垂头丧气。从工厂下班回家到上床睡觉的这段时间他几乎不跟母亲和我们说一句话。很明显父母的感情出现了问题。但当有一天妈妈把我们兄弟姐妹几个叫来，告诉我们爸爸决定离开这个家时，我还是有些始料不及。
当时，我满脑子都在想我将要成为离异家庭的牺牲品了。以前我从没想到会有这么一天，我不禁伤心欲绝。我不断告诉自己这不可能是真的，可是他离开的这一天还是到来了。在他离开的前一晚我独自在自己的房间里待了很久。我不停地哭泣和祈祷，并给父亲写了一封很长的信，我告诉父亲我是多么爱他和想念他。我告诉他，我要一直为他祈祷，并且不管发生什么我都永远爱他，我永远是他的宝贝女儿克里斯蒂……写完信之后，我将信连同我的一张照片放进信封里，照片背面写着我经常听到的一句话：“任何男人都可以成为父亲，但不是每个人都能做一位好爸爸。”
第二天一早，在我父亲离开的时候，我走到他的车前，将这封信塞到他的一个包里。转眼两周过去了，父亲音讯全无。
一天下午，我放学回家，发现母亲正坐在餐桌旁等我。从她红肿的眼睛里看得出来她刚刚哭过。母亲告诉我父亲来过了，他们长谈了一次，最后他们达成共识，认为他们的婚姻是值得挽救的，而且他们能够做到这一点。
然后母亲注视着我：“克里斯蒂，你爸爸说你给他写了一封信，我想知道你写的是什么呢？”
我感觉跟母亲分享我给父亲写的心里话有些难为情，我含糊应答了几句，耸耸肩。母亲接着说，“你爸爸说看了你的信之后他哭了，这封信对你爸爸触动很大，我以前几乎没见你爸爸哭过。他看完信之后就打电话问我是否可以过来好好谈谈。无论你在信里写了什么，都对你爸爸产生了极大的触动。”
几天之后，爸爸就搬回来跟我们一起生活了。我们之间谁也没有再提起那封信，我一直将它视为我们之间的一个小秘密。
父母的婚姻一直持续了36年，直到父亲在53岁去世。在他们婚姻的最后16年里，我和所有认识我父母的人共同见证了一段真正美满的婚姻。当父母从医生那里得知父亲的心脏一直在快速衰竭时，他们手牵手肩并肩，互相支持，直到爸爸去世。
父亲去世之后，我们不得不清理他的遗物。我讨厌做这种事，宁愿选择跑跑腿，这样就不用眼睁睁地看着这些东西被分开并装箱。当我跑腿归来时，我哥哥告诉我：“克里斯蒂，妈妈让我把这个给你，她说你会明白的。”
当我看见他手上的东西时，才真正意识到那封信当时的影响力有多大。我哥哥手上拿着的是当时我给父亲的照片，我那不善于表达自己感情的父亲，从来没有主动跟我说过爱我的父亲，一直保留着这张对我和他都意味深长的照片。
我坐下来，不禁泪流满面。我曾以为父亲去世的悲痛早已让我把眼泪流干了，但当我明白我在父亲生命中的重要性时，又一次泪如泉涌。妈妈告诉我，父亲一直珍藏着信和那张照片。
我的家里有一个盒子，我给它取名为“爸爸盒”，那里面放着所有能让我想起爸爸的东西。我经常会把那张照片拿出来回忆一番，我回想起多年前一个年轻人和他的新娘在婚礼上的承诺，以及一位父亲和女儿之间的从未说出口的承诺……Gains and Losses 得与失AnonymousThe mind can have tremendous control of the body； very few ailments can defeat focused energy and a determined spirit.
-- Katherine Most of us have experienced unforgettable moments in our lives. Themoment that I will never forget happened in my family.
For the first fifteen years of my life，I was the only child in my family. I didn’t have any siblings. Fortunately， I‘ve always had my parents， who love and care about me a lot. They help solve any problem and they will do anything for me. What I’d never really thought about is that， someday， one of them could no longer be there for me.
One day， I found out that my mother was pregnant， which was big news in my family. Everyone was excited and happy， especially me. I imagined that I would have a baby brother， and I thought about playing and having fun with him. He would have a cute face and look at me withhis naive eyes， begging me to play with him. I was expecting that day to come soon. I kept asking my mother questions about what my brother was going to look like， what he would eat and when he was going to be born.
Finally one morning， my mother went into labor and she and my father went to the hospital， while I went to school. Of course， I thought everything would be fine. After all， women have babies every day. Thus， I was hoping to see my baby brother as soon as I got to the hospital.
After school， when I went to the hospital， my brother had already been born. But my mother was still inside the operating room， while my father waited anxiously outside. After waiting for a long time， the doctor came out and told us that after my mother had given birth to my brother， they had trouble stopping the bleeding. He told us not to worry： my mother would be fine. Then， he went back into the operating room. Seconds later， lots of doctors and nurses rushed inside. My father and I were growing more anxious by the minute. Waiting was very painful for us； because we had finally realized that anything could happen and all we could do was wait.
At 7 p.m.， my mother came out of surgery. She lay on the bed with an oxygen mask and an IV. Her skin was ghastly pale， and her eyes were closed.
“Mom， Mom...”I called to her， but she didn‘t react. The doctor told us that if my mother survived this night， she would be fine. Then the doctors sent my mother to the intensive-care unit.
Inside the room were many instruments for checking blood pressure， pulse rate and heart rate. Standing next to the bed， I tried to talk to my mother， whether she could hear me or not.
