My Dad Never Says “I Love You.”

There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father.

我曾经一度认为我的父亲完全不知道怎么做一名好父亲。

I couldn’t remember him ever saying the words “I love you.”

我甚至不记得他曾经说过“我爱你”这样的话。

It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “No” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a car.

对我而言，他生活中唯一的目的就是对一切我想去的地方和想做的事说“不”，包括我想要一辆车。

Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses.

一些父母会在孩子拿到驾驶证后给他们买车。

Not my dad — he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.

但我的父亲不是——他说我必须找份工作然后自己买车。

So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and saved every penny I could. And when I had enough to buy my car, I did!

于是我照做了。我在一家高档餐厅找了份工作，存下挣到的每分钱。当我有足够的钱买车时，我就买了！

The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to show it off to.

我把车开回家的那天，我爸爸是我第一个想炫耀我新车的人。

“Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only charge you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.

我笑着说：“看吧，爸爸，我自己买的车。如果你想搭车，我只收你五美元。”

“I see,” was all he said.

他只说了句：“知道了。”

One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a ride to work.

某天，爸爸的货车出了问题。因此他需要搭车去上班。

The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house, but it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a hot day.

我们出门的时候太阳还没升起，但已经热起来了。应该会是个大热天。

As I dropped my dad off, I watched him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his tools from the truck of my car.

我爸下车时，我看着他，穿着工作服，从后备箱取出工具。

Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were more lines than I ever remembered being there before.

看着他风吹日晒的脸，即使隔了一段距离，也能看出他脸上比从前记忆中多了许多皱纹。

I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher（水泥修整工）.

我意识到为了家庭爸爸工作有多艰辛，爸爸是一名水泥修整工。

In that instant, it occurred to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete（混凝土） to make a living for his family.

在那一瞬间，我突然想起爸爸确实曾经四肢伏地，手脚并用，在滚烫的混凝土上汗流浃背，以此来挣钱养家。

And he did this day in and day out, however hot it got.

他日复一日做着这份工作，无论天气有多热。

Never, not once, had I hear him complain about it.

我从未有过一次，听到他的抱怨。

To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.

对他而言，我们有这样的“价值”，他从未向我们“收费”。

When he slammed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to hand me five dollars.

他拉下尾箱，把工具放到旁边，走到窗户边，递给我五美元。

I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s on me. Don’t work too hard. I love you.”

我摇下车窗，说道：“拜拜，爸爸，你留着钱吧。我请你。工作别太辛苦，我爱你。”

His eyes met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he cleared his throat and said, “Oh, and…me, too.”

他的视线跟我的相对，然后瞥向放工具的方向，他清了清嗓子，说：“哦，我也是。”

As I drove away, I knew “me, too” was enough because my father showed me his love with his actions, day after day, year after year.

我开车离去，知道一句“我也是”已经足够，因为爸爸用他日复一日、年复一年的行动向我表达了爱。