三岁那年，我遇到了圣诞老人

My dad had 3 strokes when I was 3.

我3岁的时候，父亲中风了3次

My mom went back to work,

我母亲又重新开始工作了

but they were having trouble making ends meet.

但他们还是难以维持日常所需的开销

It was Christmas,

圣诞节的时候

and my mom made me a doll,

我妈妈给我做了一个玩偶

my brother was getting a book from a garage sale,

我哥哥在大甩卖上淘到了一本书

and for dinner

而圣诞大餐

mom splurged for Kraft mac&cheese.

妈妈忍痛买了卡夫牌的奶酪通心粉

On Christmas eve there

在那个平安夜

was a phone call

我们忽然接到电话

telling us

告诉我们

someone was seen "lurking " around our yard,

有人看到一个陌生人在我家院子周围“游荡”

and it should be investigated.

这件事有待调查

On the porch

在门廊上

we found a basket

我们找到了一个篮子

with ham, green beans,

里面有火腿，青豆

corn, potatoes, yams,

玉米，土豆，山药

pumpkin pie, and apple pie

还有南瓜派和苹果派

for dinner.

真是一顿大餐

There were eggs, biscuits,

还有鸡蛋，饼干

milk, and bacon for breakfast too!

牛奶和培根，连早餐也有了！

In a small red bag

在一个小小的红色袋子里

there were gifts

放着许多的礼物

for my brother, mom, dad, and myself.

给我哥哥，妈妈，爸爸，还有我自己

Leading up to the porch

从门口一直道门廊

there were boot prints,

一路上有靴子的脚印

and "sleigh " marks in the snow.

雪地里还有“雪橇”的印记

This was 37 years ago,

这是37年前的事

and I remember this

我一直记得

as my best Christmas

把它当做最棒的圣诞节

because we saw that

因为我们一家人亲眼见证了

Santa came to see us.

圣诞老人的拜访

We had the physical evidence

我们找到了确凿的证据

from the boots, sleigh,

靴子的足迹，雪橇的痕迹

and were told that

还曾有人告诉我们

Santa might not have our new address.

圣诞老人或许没有我们的新地址

To this day

直到今天

my mom still has no idea

我妈妈还是不知道

how santa found us that year.

那一年圣诞老人是如何找到我们的

She still doesn't know

她仍不知道

who was the literal saint

那个圣诞老人究竟是什么人

who gave us gifts,

会送给我们礼物

but also kept alive the the magic of the season for her children.

而且还为她的孩子们更加确信了圣诞节的魔力

So

所以

to our special Santa

我们特别的圣诞老人

(whoever you were)

无论你是谁

thank you!!!

谢谢你！

Yes I teared up writing this.

没错，我写这篇文章的时候热泪盈眶