I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed. It was time. The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights. I'd procrastinated¹ long enough.

我望着我的美丽圣诞树叹了口气，是时候该把树收起来了。新年已经过了一个星期，而我的圣诞树依然挺立在我们房间的角落里，在缤纷的彩灯光辉中骄傲地展示着它珍藏其中的种种回忆。（对于收起圣诞树）我已经拖了很长时间了。

I got up, went to the garage and hauled all the boxes into the room. The garland was the first to come down. The tree looked naked already. I took the large ornaments³ off next. They made a large pile on our bed. An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories. Each pile contained an ornament² along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago.

我起身去了车库，把所有的盒子都拖进了房间。花环首先被摘了下来，圣诞树看上去就显得光秃秃的了，然后我又把大的装饰物拿了下来，它们在我们的床上堆了很大一堆。一小时后，我们的床上堆满了圣诞回忆。每一堆都包含着一件多年前购买的装饰物以及与之相配套的其他装饰品。

I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favourite "Hey, little Santa!" I held the Santa from my childhood. "Thanks for being my friend for almost fifty years." He was a little ragged⁴ but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories. —Until next year, my dear friend."

我准备好盒子并把这些装饰物小心地放进包装袋内，每过几分钟就会停下来欣赏一件我最爱的饰品。“嗨，小圣诞老人！”我拿着自童年起就陪伴我的圣诞老人，“谢谢你和我做了将近50年的朋友。”圣诞老人有一点破旧了，但仍然带给我如潮般的美好回忆，“明年再见啦，我亲爱的朋友。”

There was a collection of handmade ones. My children made in their first years of school, more than twenty years ago. Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree — memories of young giggles⁵ on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work. "Look what we made, Daddy!"

还有许多手工制作的装饰品，是我的孩子们刚上学的头几年制作的，已经是二十多年前的事情了。这些由小手制成的装饰品设计绝非精美，但每年它们都被挂到我的回忆树上，让我忆起圣诞节清早纯真的欢笑，忆起我下班回家他们把这些饰品递给我时微笑的脸庞，“看我们做了什么，爸爸！”

"Oh! It is beautiful. Let's find a special spot on the tree for it." Every year since, they are displayed.

“唔，真漂亮，让我们在树上找个特别的地方挂它。”自那以后，每年它们都被挂到树上。

A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed and I sat staring at a barren corner. The room seemed so empty. It took me two days of work to assemble and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart.

几小时后，装得满满的盒子又回到了车库，房间腾空了，我坐下来凝视那空荡荡的角落。房间显得太空旷了。我花了两天装饰装点我的圣诞树，而收起却只花了几个小时。

My tree is a good marriage or a great friendship. Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly. All it takes is an unkind word or a thoughtless act, and what once stood proudly in the glow of love comes tumbling down.

圣诞树彰显着我美满的婚姻、美好的友情。这些也和圣诞树一样要经历很长的时间积聚并用回忆加以装点，但却转眼就能分崩瓦解。一番尖刻的话语，一个轻率的举动就能使原本在爱的光辉中傲然挺立的东西纷纷坠落。

Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships. I take great care of those. They get to glow in the corner of my life for as long as I live. I get to analyze⁶ my tree and find memories for a few weeks every year. I can do the same with the loves in my life every day. When I held the Santa, a flood of wonderful memories returned. The same happens when I hold my wife or see the smile of a friend across the room.

每年我都不得不把圣诞树搁置起来，但我从不搁置我的婚姻和友情，而是小心地经营它们。只要我活着，它们就在我生活的角落里焕发光彩。每一年我都会分析我的树并花几个星期寻找回忆，我也可以每天回忆生活中的爱。当我拿着圣诞老人时，美好回忆的潮水席卷而来。当我抱着妻子或是看到房间对面一个朋友的微笑时也是如此。

Take great care of your friendships and your marriage. Once they come down, they aren't as easy to put back together as a Christmas tree, if at all. Stand them in that special spot in the corner of your heart and admire their glow.

小心经营你的友谊和婚姻，它们一旦失落，可不像圣诞树那样能那么轻易地加以重装，如果能够重装的话。把它们放到你心灵角落那个特殊的位置上并懂得欣赏它们焕发出的夺目光彩。