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歌颂父亲节的英语作文歌颂父亲节的英语作文In thedoorway of my home,I lookedclosely atthe faceofmy23-year-old son,Daniel,his backpackby hisside.We weresaying good-bye.In afew hourshe wouldbe flyingto France.He wouldbe stayingthere foratleast ayear tolearn anotherlanguage andexperience lifein adifferentcountry.It was a transitionaltime inDanieTs life,a passage,a stepfrom collegeinto the adultworld.I wantedto leavehim withwords thatwould havesomemeaning,some significancebeyond the moment.But nothingcame frommy lips.No soundbroke thestillness ofmybeachside homeon LongIsland.Outside,I couldhear theshrill criesof seagullsas theycircled theever-changing surf.Inside,I stoodfrozen andquiet,looking into the searchingeyes ofmy son.What madeit moredifficult wasthat I knew thiswas notthe firsttime Ihadlet sucha momentpass.When Daniel was five,I tookhim totheschool-bus stopon hisfirst dayof kindergarten.I feltthe tensionin hishandholding mineas the bus turnedthe corner.I sawcolor flushhis cheeksasthe buspulled up.His questioningeyes lookedup atmine.What isit goingto belike,Dad CanI doit WillI beokay And then hewalkedup thesteps ofthebusand disappearedinside.Andthebus droveaway.And Ihad saidnothing.A decadeor solater,a similarscene playeditself out.With hismother,Idrove himtotheCollege ofWilliam andMary inVirginia.His firstnight,hewent outwith hisnew schoolmates.When hemet usthe nextmorning,hewas sick.He wascoming downwith mononucleosis,but wecould notknowthat then.We thoughthe hada hangover.In hisroom,Dan laystretched outon hisbed as I startedto leavefor thetriphome.I triedto thinkof somethingto sayto givehim somecourageand confidenceas hestarted thisnew phaseof life.Again,words failedme.I mumbledsomething like,Hope youfeel better,Dan.And Ileft.Now,asI stood beforehim,I thoughtof thoselost opportunities.Howmany timeshave weall letsuch momentspassA parentdies,and,instead ofgiving aeulogy ourselves,we letaclergyman speak.A childasks ifSanta Clausis real,or wherebabies comefrom,and,embarrassed,we sloughit off.When adaughter graduatesor asonis married,we watchthem gothrough themotions ofthe ceremony.But wedont seekout ourchildren andfind aquiet momentto tellthemwhat theyhave meantto us.Or whatthey mightexpect toface in the yearsahead.How fastthe yearshad passed.Daniel wasborn inNew Orleans,slow towalkand talk,and smallof stature.He wasthe tiniestin hisclass,but hedevelopeda warm,outgoing natureand waspopular withhis peers.Hewas coordinatedand agile,and hebecame adeptin sports.Baseball gavehim hisearliest challenge.He was an outstandingpitcherin LittleLeague,expecting tomake itbig inhigh school.It didnthappenthat way.He failedto moveup fromthe juniorvarsity team.But hestuck itout.Eventually,asasenior,he movedup tothe varsity.He wonhalf theteamsgames.At graduation,the coachnamed Danielthe teamsmostvaluable player.His finesthour,though,came ata schoolscience fair.He enteredanexhibit showinghow thecirculatory systemworks.He sketchedit oncardboard.It wasprimitive andcrude,especially comparedtothefancy,computerized,blinking-light modelsentered byother students.My wife,Sara,felt embarrassedfor him.It turnedout that the otherkids hadnot donetheir ownwork-theirparents had made theirexhibits.As thejudges wenton theirrounds,theyfound thatthese otherkids couldntanswer theirquestions.Danielanswered everyone.When thejudges awardedthe AlbertEinstein Plaqueforthe bestexhibit,they gaveit tohim.By thetime Danielleft forcollege hestood sixfeet talland weighed170pounds.He wasmuscular andin superbcondition.But henever pitchedanotherinning.He foundthat hecould notcombine athleticswithacademics.He gaveup baseballfor Englishliterature.I wassorry that hewould notdevelop hisathletic talent,but proudthat he hadmadesuch amaturedecision.He graduatedwith aB average.One day,I toldDaniel thatthe greatfailing inmy lifehad beenthat Ididnttake ayear ortwo offto travelwhen Ifinished college.This isthe bestway,to myway ofthinking,to broadenoneself anddevelopa largerperspective onlife.Once Ihad marriedand begunworking,I foundthatthedream ofliving inanother culturehad vanished.Daniel thoughtabout this.His Yuppiefriends saidthathewould beinsaneto puthis careeron hold.But hedecided itwasnt socrazy.Aftergraduation,he workedasawaiter,a bikemessenger,and ahouse painter.With themoney heearned,hehadenough togo toParis.The nightbefore he was toleave,I tossedin bed.I wastrying tofigureout somethingto say.Nothing cameto mind.Maybe,I thought,it wasntnecessaryto sayanything.What doesit matterinthecourse ofa lifetimeif afather nevertells asonwhat hereally thinksof himBut asIstoodbefore Daniel,I knewthat itdoesmatter.My fatherand Iloved eachother.Yet,I alwaysregrettednever hearinghim puthis feelingsinto wordsand neverhaving thememoryof thatmoment.Now,I couldfeel mypalms sweatand mythroat tighten.Why isit sohardto tella sonsomething fromthe heartMy mouthturned dry.IknewIwould beable toget outonly afew wordsclearly.Daniel,I said,if I could have picked,I wouldhavepickedyou.Thats allIcouldsay.I wasntsure heunderstood whatI meant.Then hecametoward meand threwhis armsaround me.For amoment,the worldandall itspeople vanished,and therewas justDaniel andme.He wassaying something,but myeyes mistedover,and Icouldntunderstand whathewassaying.All Iwas awareof wasthe stubbleon hischinas hisface pressedagainst mine.And then,themomentended,andDaniel leftfor France.I thinkabout himwhen Iwalk alongthe beachon weekends.Thousandsof milesaway,somewhere outpast theocean wavesbreaking onthedeserted shore,he mightbe scurryingacross BoulevardSaint Germain,strolling througha mustyhallway ofthe Louvre,bending anelbow ina LeftBankcafe.What Isaid toDanielwasclumsy andtrite.It wasnothing.And yet,it waseverything.。