(網路文章轉載)

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother.  As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter. 
" Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling the  tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to  need Sisters.  Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with  them.'
 
一位少婦在炙熱悶熱的某一天，拜訪其母，並與她喝茶聊天。當她們談到生命，婚姻，生命中的責任以及成年人的義務時，其母陷入了沉思，輕輕弄響了杯中的冰塊，並給了她女兒一清晰，但哀怨的眼神。
 
她(母輕) 將茶葉攪至杯底，並告誡她到:「別忘了妳的姊妹們。當妳年紀再大一點時，她們將會顯得更加重要。無論妳多愛妳的丈夫，無論妳多愛妳的孩子們，妳仍會需要姐妹。請記得一定要不時地和她們出去走走，或和她們一起做些事。」
 
'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too.
'You'll need other women.  Women  always do.'
What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married?   Haven't I just joined the couple-world?  I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake!  A grownup!  Surely  my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'
 
「請記住，這裡的『姐妹』代表的是所有的女性…包括妳的朋友，妳的女兒，以及所有女性的親人。妳將會需要其他的女人，因為女人總是有樣的需要。」
「真是個好笑的建議，」這位年輕的女人心想，「我不是才剛結了婚嗎? 我不是才剛進入這個兩人的世界嗎? 天哪，我已經是個結過婚的女人了耶，已經是個大人了耶，我的先生和我們剛起步的家庭當然是讓我人生有意義的唯一所需的啊!」
   
But she listened to her Mother.  She kept contact  with her Sisters and made more women friends each  year. As the years tumbled  by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really  knew what she was talking about. 
 
但仍她遵照母親所說，每年與她的姐妹保持聯繫，並廣交女性友人。時光飛逝，她逐漸了解到其母當時所說的話，代表了甚麼意思。
 
As time and nature  work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.
After more than 50 years of living in this world,  here is what I've learned:
 
當時間及大自然在一個女人身上，施展促使其改變的神祕力量，「姐妹們」將會是她生命的重要支柱。
在這個世界上活了近50年後，我學到的是：
THIS SAYS IT ALL:
 
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end..
 
以下解釋了一切：
時光流逝
生命誕生
距離造成離別
孩子長大成人
工作來來去去
愛情融化消逝
男人屏棄其應做之事
心碎
父母過世
同事忘卻(從妳)所得到的恩惠
工作結束
 
BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are  between you.  A girl friend is never farther away  than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying  for you, pulling for you, intervening on your  behalf, and  waiting with open arms at the valley's end.
Sometimes, they will even  break the rules and walk beside  you...Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,  Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended  family, all bless our life!
 
但是……..
姐妹們總是在那兒；不因妳們之間相距多少時間或里程，女性友人總是會存在妳所需的距離內。
當妳必須獨自走過那孤寂的峽谷，妳生命中的女性友人將會站在山緣邊，為妳加油打氣，為妳祈禱，拉妳一把，為妳而介入這趟旅程，並在山谷的終點，敞開雙臂迎接妳。
 
有時，她們會為了妳而無視規則，加入妳的旅程，走在妳身邊…亦或將妳帶離此地。
女性友人，女兒，孫女，媳婦，姐妹，母親，祖母，阿姨，外甥女(姪女)，堂(表)姐以及其他擴展家庭的成員，都會為我們的生命而祝福!
 
The world  wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.   When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.  Nor did we know how much we  would  need each other.  Every  day, we need each other still. Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful. I just did. Short and  very sweet:
 
There are more than twenty angels in this world.
Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds.  Nine are playing.  And one is reading her email at this moment.
Send this message to ten of your friends including me.  If you get 5 replies, someone you love will surprise  you.
 
沒有了女人，世界將不再一樣，而我也將變得截然不同。當我們開始經歷「成為女人」的這一段冒險時，我們無法得知，前方等待我們的是極端的痛苦或喜樂；我們也無法知道，我們是否仍會需要彼此。然而，我們的確仍需要彼此。將這封信傳給讓妳的生命變得有意義的女性，而我剛剛已這麼做了，並簡短而甜蜜地寫到：
 
Happy  days!
祝每一天都愉快
 
Don't  break this; it's  working
別讓這封信斷掉，它正在發揮它的作用
   
Why I forward emails to you?!
Forwarding with love
                                            
為什麼我轉寄信給妳呢?
因為我也轉寄了我的愛心。