Biggie goes to school / 小哥哥上學去

明天小方哥哥就要上學去，我們都跑去為他加油打氣，我還和他排練自我介紹，他很有志氣地說他要選班長，而且今晚恐怕還會興奮地睡不著，感覺他生下來就是要當模範生的料。

Tomorrow Von is going to kindergarten for the first time in his life. We can't help but go cheer for him this evening. I even ask him to rehearse self-introduction. He has announced to us his ambition of running for class leader. Chances are that he might be too excited to fall asleep tonight. I think he is cut out for a role model student. 

孩子大了，我們也老了，有一天小方在電話裡突然問：汪達姨，你為什麼不結婚呢？我想當你的花童，可是我太大就不能當了。聽見他一副苦惱的樣子，我只好回答：十歲以前都可以，你給我五年的時間。這話說得自己有點心虛，大人們說這席話我無論如何都可以帶過，但是從小方嘴裡說出來，我倒不知怎麼答了。

As children grow up, we have aged. One day Von asked me on the phone all of a sudden: Auntie Wanda, why don't you get married? I want to be your ring bearer, but if I am too old, I can't do it then. He sounded really worried, and I felt the need to give him a satisfying answer. Thus I replied, "It's ok to be a ring bearer before 10 years old. Give me five years..." But to be honest, I wasn't confident that I can find someone by then. Whenever adults bombard me with the question, I can always remain poised or even ignore them. However, Von is so sincere that I can't lie to or joke with him. 

真擔心小方去上學之後看到更大的世界，我們這些老人在他心裡就沒有那麼重要了，一向很想得開的我不免這麼煩惱。

I am afraid that after Von goes to school, he'll see a much bigger and better world. We, the old folks at home, won't be so important to him. I seldom fight to be the most important person in people's mind, but it matters a lot when it comes to Von. 

不知道幼稚園的小朋友玩不玩我們三個總在玩的醫生病人遊戲，每次小方當病人時說的症狀都很耳熟，一聽才發現都是我的真實經驗，例如說，「醫生，我膝蓋很不舒服，有可能是之前跑步跑太多了。」現在他還會問我，「今天是中醫部還西醫部？」呆呆的楷維會在旁邊嚷嚷：「我是護士阿姨！」即使我們糾正他數十次他是護士叔叔，他還是很堅持自己是阿姨。

I wonder if kids in the kindergarten will play our doctor-patient role play. Every time Von's symptoms sound so familiar, and they turn out to be my real-life experience.  For example, "Doctor, my knees hurt. Might it be that I jogged too much?" He even asks me now, "Do we resort to Chinese or western medicine today?" Young Kai will shout, "I am Miss Nurse." Even after we've told him dozens of times that he should be Mr. Nurse, he still insists that he's Miss Nurse. 

楷維總是跟在哥哥屁股後，問他哥哥去上學他會不會孤單，他道：德德上學會帶餅單回來給我吃。兩歲多的小楷發不出ㄍ和ㄎ的聲音，所以這兩個音用ㄉ和ㄎ取代，但是他不太在乎我們笑他，說話可以一長串，有時還給人很成熟的錯覺。

Kai always follows his older brother around. Asked if he'll feel lonely when Von goes to school, he answers, "Blother will bring home tookies from school." He actually has problems pronouncing the g and k sounds in mandarin, so they are replaced by the d and k sounds. He doesn't care about our teasing him though. Sometimes he can form really long sentences, giving us the illusion that he's very mature. 

寫這些拉拉雜雜的小事，因為我知道和時間的競賽裡，我們肯定是輸家，但是我要勤快地留下記錄，在英國的時候也要把這些回憶當作我的財產，畢竟不是每一個人都如此幸運，能有孩子們的陪伴，且能看到這些美麗的細節。

I intend to record these seemingly-trivial anecdotes because I know too well that we are bound to be losers in the race against time. However, I can write down the stories, which will become my precious possessions when I am in the UK. After all, not everyone is so lucky to be blessed with the company of children or the eye to discover these lovely details.