Too Late|子欲养而亲不待

Too Late

by Olivia Wycech

Make sure and tell your mother that you love her today.

　　It was September 30, 2013, when I had to make the toughest decision of my entire life. My mother suddenly went into cardiac arrest, and the doctors said I had two choices. They said they could try to revive her, but that came with a price. If she survived, she would most likely be a vegetable. The other option was to let life take its natural course and let her breathe her last breath. I only had a few minutes to make this life and death decision, and I was warned not to let it haunt me for the rest of my days. In the end, I lay down beside my dear mother and wept. Before long, I made the hardest decision ever and let her go.

　　As I lay next to my mother, I told her everything that I had ever wanted. I shared the things I was grateful for and what I was sorry about, and most importantly, I thanked her for raising me into an outstanding woman. It was only then that I realized her passing wasn't the saddest thing about the situation. It was extremely upsetting that I had never told her any of those things when she could hear them. I had never told my mother that I loved her when she was alive. I had never expressed anything about my love for her until that moment. She taught me how to be kind, to love, to be real, to be a mother, to be genuine towards people, and to live simply so that other people could simply live. Not once did I ever thank her until it was too late. Now, I have learned to tell everyone who means something special to me that they are an important part of my life.

子欲养而亲不待

今天就务必告诉你的母亲，你很爱她。

　　那天是 2013 年的九月三十日，就在那天我不得不做出我一生中最困难的抉择。我母亲突然心脏病发，而医生说，我有两个选择。医护人员说他们可以试着救活她，但那会付出很大的代价。那就是如果母亲活下来的话，很有可能会变成植物人。而另一个选择则是让生命顺其自然，也就是让她自行咽下最后一口气。我只有几分钟来做出这个生死攸关的决定，而我也被告诫不要让这个抉择困扰自己的余生。最后，我侧躺在母亲身旁，哭了出来。不久后，我做出了人生中最困难的抉择，那就是放手让她走。

　　当我躺在母亲身边，我告诉她我一直以来想要的一切。我与她分享着我所感激的事物以及感到遗憾的事情，而最重要的是，我感谢她把我养育成一位杰出的女性。那时我才了解，她的过世并不是最令人悲伤的事情。只是很难过，我未能在母亲还听得到时，告诉她这些事情。在她生前，我从未告诉过她，我爱她。直到那一刻，我才表现出我对她的爱。她曾教过我如何善待别人、怎么去爱人、实在一点、怎么当个母亲、如何真诚待人，还有生活要过得简单一点，好让其他人可以简单地生活。我也从没有感谢过她，直到现在为时已晚。我现在学会了要去告诉每一个我觉得对我来说有特别意义的人，他们是我生命中很重要的一部份。