剛剛被Working Mother（職業辣媽）評為2015最具影響力的母親之一的貝嫂，近日在Time網站上發表公開信，寫給她的孩子們，表達自己的感激之情。以下為公開信全文：

Being a mother is simply the greatest achievement of my life. It has taken me on an unexpected journey that can constantly surprise, educate and confuse me! The emotional connection I feel towards my children brings boundless elation and joy as well as the inevitable worry and concern.
做一個母親是我人生中最大的成就，給了我一段意想不到的旅程，而且持續帶給我驚喜、教育我、有時也會讓我迷惑。和孩子們的感情聯系帶給我無限的喜悅，同時也有難以避免的操心和擔憂。

They are a wonder to me every day. From a teenage son through to a toddler daughter, each moment of every day is filled with different energies, activities, feelings and a lot of comedy. From playing sport to lounging on the sofa, each of my children fill every second with laughter, music and discussion. They are kind hearted and well-mannered and have incredibly enquiring minds, and I feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by these phenomenal human beings.
每一天，他們對我來說都是一個奇跡。從青少年的兒子到蹣跚學步的女兒，每一天的每一個瞬間都充滿了不同的能量、活動、感受以及大量的喜劇。無論在哪里，我的每一個孩子的生活都充滿了笑聲，音樂和討論。他們心地善良，舉止得體，求知欲強。我很慶幸有這樣一個家庭。

Being in a position where they live such a privileged life, it is important that our children understand humility, that they appreciate how their parents have worked very hard to create this life for the family and that they, too, have a responsibility to work hard, be respectful and never, ever take anything for granted.
在這樣一個優越的成長環境中，我們的孩子懂得謙卑非常重要，讓他們學會感恩父母為全家人創造優越生活所付出的努力，并且讓他們知道，他們同樣有責任去努力奮斗、尊重他人，并且永遠不要覺得一切理所當然。

My mother and father always encouraged me and my siblings, to have ambitions, and I hope that I can do the same with my children. I hope that I, together with their father, inspire them to dream big and be the best version of themselves that they can be.
我的父母經常鼓勵我和我的兄弟姐妹要有抱負，我也希望我可以這樣教導孩子。我希望我和他爸可以鼓勵他們勇敢做夢，并做到他們的最好。

Like so many working mothers all over the world, I feel the constant struggle to be the best mother I can, whilst setting a good example to my children to work hard. I travel for work when it’s necessary, and I miss them all the time when I am away. But they hide notes in my suitcase, which I love to find when unpacking, and I always bring photographs of all the family and put them by my bed so they are the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to sleep. I love to hear their voices on the phone and seeing their faces—thank goodness for FaceTime. That sense of feeling connected makes being apart that little bit easier.
跟世界各地的許多職業母親一樣，我感受到了要成為一個最棒的母親所面臨的持續挑戰，同時，我要努力工作為我的孩子樹立一個好的榜樣。有時候我不得不出差，當我不在他們身邊的時候，我一直在想念他們。但是他們會在我的行李里藏小紙條，我喜歡在開箱的時候去尋找，我一直喜歡出差時帶著全家人的照片，把照片放在床頭，這樣我醒來的第一眼和我睡前的最后一眼看到的都會是我的家人。我喜歡聽到他們的聲音看到他們的面孔，幸虧有FaceTime。那種聯結的感覺讓分離的痛苦少一些。

I have always been a great believer that women should support women, and my admiration goes out to mothers everywhere, as they constantly put their own needs behind those of their children, embracing daily uncertainties and entering the new uncharted territories that each day brings, to be, in return, rewarded with joy and unending love.
一直以來，我都堅信女性之間應該相互扶持，我很欽佩世界各地的母親們，因為他們總是把自己的需求置于孩子的需求之后，每天都會遇到各種意想不到的事情，進入到各種未知的領域，同時，他們也收獲了快樂和無盡的愛。

（來源：英語環球，編輯 Helen）