我是一个爱丢东西的人。
Wǒ shì yí gè ài diū dōngxi de rén.
I am a person who loses things.
从小到大，丢过的东西能装满一屋子。
Cóngxiǎo dào dà, diū guò de dōngxi néng zhuāng mǎn yì wūzi.
Since childhood, the things I have lost could fill a whole room.
雨伞丢得最多，数也数不清。
Yǔ sǎn diū de zuì duō, shù yě shù bù qīng.
Umbrellas are what I lose most, too many to count.
光是一年，我就丢过五把伞。
Guāng shì yì nián, wǒ jiù diū guò wǔ bǎ sǎn.
In a single year I lost five umbrellas.
每一把都是下雨天买的，晴天丢的。
Měi yì bǎ dōu shì xià yǔ tiān mǎi de, qíng tiān diū de.
Every one of them was bought on a rainy day and lost on a sunny one.
卖伞的老板都认识我了。
Mài sǎn de lǎobǎn dōu rènshi wǒ le.
The umbrella seller came to know me well.
他一见我进门就笑，说又来照顾生意了。
Tā yí jiàn wǒ jìn mén jiù xiào, shuō yòu lái zhàogù shēngyi le.
The moment he saw me walk in he laughed and said, here to look after my business again.
钥匙丢过，钱包丢过，手套也丢过。
Yàoshi diū guò, qián bāo diū guò, shǒutào yě diū guò.
I have lost keys, wallets, and gloves.
有一回，我把刚买的新衣服丢在了车上。
Yǒu yì huí, wǒ bǎ gāng mǎi de xīn yīfu diū zài le chē shàng.
Once I left a brand-new piece of clothing on the bus.
我母亲最看不得我丢东西。
Wǒ mǔqīn zuì kàn bùdé wǒ diū dōngxi.
My mother could not stand my losing things.
她总说，你的东西没有长脚。
Tā zǒng shuō, nǐ de dōngxi méiyǒu cháng jiǎo.
She always said, your things did not grow legs.
长脚的是你，不是它。
Cháng jiǎo de shì nǐ, bú shì tā.
The one with legs is you, not the thing.
小时候丢了东西，我不敢回家说。
Xiǎoshíhou diū le dōngxi, wǒ bù gǎn huí jiā shuō.
When I lost something as a child, I dared not say it at home.
她一眼就能看出来。
Tā yì yǎn jiù néng kàn chūlái.
She could see it at a glance.
她也不骂我，只是长长地出一口气。
Tā yě bú mà wǒ, zhǐshì cháng cháng de chū yìkǒuqì.
She would not scold me; she only let out a long breath.
那口气比骂我一顿还难受。
Nà kǒuqì bǐ mà wǒ yí dùn hái nánshòu.
That sigh hurt more than a scolding.
我宁愿她骂我一顿，也不想听见那口气。
Wǒ nìngyuàn tā mà wǒ yí dùn, yě bù xiǎng tīngjiàn nà kǒuqì.
I would rather she scolded me than hear that breath.
后来我才发现，母亲一辈子没有丢过东西。
Hòulái wǒ cái fāxiàn, mǔqīn yíbèizi méiyǒu diū guò dōngxi.
Only later did I realize that my mother had never lost a thing in her life.
她的一把扇子用了三十年。
Tā de yì bǎ shànzi yòng le sān shí nián.
She used the same fan for thirty years.
断了一根，她还接着用。
Duàn le yì gēn, tā hái jiēzhe yòng.
When one rib broke, she kept on using it.
她不是没有丢过，是丢不起。
Tā bú shì méiyǒu diū guò, shì diū bù qǐ.
It was not that she never lost things; she could not afford to.
一把伞的钱，是她一天的菜钱。
Yì bǎ sǎn de qián, shì tā yì tiān de cài qián.
The price of an umbrella was her food money for a day.
所以她把每一样东西都放在心上。
Suǒyǐ tā bǎ měi yíyàng dōngxi dōu fàng zài xīn shàng.
That is why she kept every single thing close to her heart.
用完放回原处，是她一辈子的习惯。
Yòng wán fàng huí yuán chǔ, shì tā yíbèizi de xíguàn.
Putting things back where they belong was the habit of her lifetime.
我工作以后，丢东西的本事更大了。
Wǒ gōngzuò yǐhòu, diū dōngxi de běnshi gèng dà le.
After I started working, my talent for losing things only grew.
出差丢过电脑，旅游丢过相机。
Chūchāi diū guò diànnǎo, lǚyóu diū guò xiàngjī.
I lost a laptop on a business trip and a camera on a holiday.
每次丢完，我都对自己说要改。
Měi cì diū wán, wǒ dōu duì zìjǐ shuō yào gǎi.
Every time, I told myself I would change.
下次一定放好，一定回头检查。
Xià cì yídìng fàng hǎo, yídìng huítóu jiǎnchá.
Next time I would put things away properly and double-check.
可是下一次，还是照丢不误。
Kěshì xià yí cì, háishi zhào diū bú wù.
But the next time, I lost things all the same.
同事笑我，说我该把东西背在身上。
Tóngshì xiào wǒ, shuō wǒ gāi bǎ dōngxi bēi zài shēn shàng.
My colleagues laughed and said I should carry everything on my back.
我跟着笑，笑完还是照样丢。
Wǒ gēn zhe xiào, xiào wán háishi zhàoyàng diū.
I laughed along, and went right on losing things.
妻子倒不怪我。
Qīzi dào bú guài wǒ.
My wife, though, does not blame me.
她说，我丢的东西，多半去了需要的人那里。
Tā shuō, wǒ diū de dōngxi, duōbàn qù le xūyào de rén nàlǐ.
She says the things I lose mostly end up with people who need them.
那把伞，说不定替谁挡了一场大雨。
Nà bǎ sǎn, shuōbudìng tì shéi dǎng le yì chǎng dà yǔ.
That umbrella may have shielded someone from a heavy rain.
那件衣服，说不定正穿在谁身上。
Nà jiàn yīfu, shuōbudìng zhèng chuān zài shéi shēn shàng.
That piece of clothing may be on someone right now.
这么一想，丢东西倒像是送东西。
Zhème yì xiǎng, diū dōngxi dào xiàng shì sòng dōngxi.
Thinking of it that way, losing things feels almost like giving gifts.
她这么一说，我心里好受一些。
Tā zhème yì shuō, wǒ xīnlǐ hǎoshòu yìxiē.
When she puts it that way, I feel a little better.
去年冬天，我丢了一样不能丢的东西。
Qùnián dōngtiān, wǒ diū le yíyàng bù néng diū de dōngxi.
Last winter, I lost something I could not afford to lose.
是母亲留给我的一块旧手表。
Shì mǔqīn liú gěi wǒ de yí kuài jiù shǒubiǎo.
It was the old watch my mother had left me.
表早就不走了，我一直放在抽屉里。
Biǎo zǎo jiù bù zǒu le, wǒ yìzhí fàng zài chōuti lǐ.
The watch had stopped long ago, and I kept it in a drawer.
搬家那天，抽屉清空了，表却不见了。
Bānjiā nà tiān, chōuti qīng kōng le, biǎo què bújiàn le.
On moving day, the drawer was emptied, but the watch was gone.
我把新家翻了三遍。
Wǒ bǎ xīn jiā fān le sān biàn.
I turned the new home upside down three times.
还是没有。
Háishi méiyǒu.
Still nothing.
我找了搬家公司，问了每一个人。
Wǒ zhǎo le bānjiā gōngsī, wèn le měi yí gèrén.
I went to the moving company and asked every single person.
没有人见过那块表。
Méiyǒu rén jiàn guò nà kuài biǎo.
Nobody had seen the watch.
那些天我吃不下饭。
Nàxiē tiān wǒ chī búxià fàn.
For days I could not eat.
夜里躺在床上，总觉得那表还在响。
Yè lǐ tǎng zài chuáng shàng, zǒng juéde nà biǎo hái zài xiǎng.
Lying in bed at night, I kept feeling the watch was still ticking.
妻子说，别急，说不定哪天就出来了。
Qīzi shuō, bié jí, shuōbudìng nǎ tiān jiù chūlái le.
My wife said, don't worry, it may turn up one day.
半年以后，女儿从她的玩具底下拿出了那块表。
Bàn nián yǐhòu, nǚ’ér cóng tā de wánjù dǐxia ná chū le nà kuài biǎo.
Half a year later, my daughter pulled the watch out from under her toys.
她说，是我拿的，我忘了。
Tā shuō, shì wǒ ná de, wǒ wàng le.
She said, I took it, and I forgot.
她才五岁，不知道那块表是什么。
Tā cái wǔ suì, bù zhīdào nà kuài biǎo shì shénme.
She was only five and did not know what that watch was.
我举着那块旧表，半天一个字也说不出来。
Wǒ jǔ zhe nà kuài jiù biǎo, bàntiān yí gè zì yě shuō bù chūlái.
I held up that old watch and could not say a word for a long while.
原来丢东西这件事，家里的孩子也会。
Yuánlái diū dōngxi zhè jiàn shì, jiā lǐ de háizi yě huì.
So losing things runs in the family; the child does it too.
我没有怪女儿，她只是像我。
Wǒ méiyǒu guài nǚ’ér, tā zhǐshì xiàng wǒ.
I did not blame her; she simply takes after me.
我们这样的人，丢东西也是一种本事。
Wǒmen zhèyàng de rén, diū dōngxi yě shì yì zhǒng běnshi.
For people like us, losing things is a talent of its own.
原来找到东西的开心，比丢了东西的难过更长。
Yuánlái zhǎo dào dōngxi de kāixīn, bǐ diū le dōngxi de nánguò gèng cháng.
It turns out the joy of finding lasts longer than the sorrow of losing.
我把表放回抽屉，这次上了锁。
Wǒ bǎ biǎo fàng huí chōuti, zhè cì shàng le suǒ.
I put the watch back in the drawer, and this time I locked it.
其实我知道，表还会旧，东西还会丢。
Qíshí wǒ zhīdào, biǎo hái huì jiù, dōngxi hái huì diū.
In truth I know the watch will age and things will still get lost.
人这一辈子，就是在丢和找之间过日子。
Rén zhè yíbèizi, jiùshì zài diū hé zhǎo zhījiān guò rìzi.
A lifetime is spent between losing and finding.
丢雨伞，丢钥匙，丢时间，丢人。
Diū yǔ sǎn, diū yàoshi, diū shíjiān, diūrén.
We lose umbrellas, keys, time, and people.
有些能找回来，大多数不能。
Yǒuxiē néng zhǎo huílái, dàduō shù bù néng.
Some can be found again; most cannot.
找不回来的，就成了心里的一块地方。
Zhǎo bù huílái de, jiù chéng le xīnlǐ de yí kuài dìfang.
The ones that cannot be found become a place in the heart.
那个地方平时不去，下雨的时候会疼。
Nàge dìfang píngshí bú qù, xià yǔ de shíhou huì téng.
You stay away from that place in fair weather; it aches when it rains.
母亲去年走了。
Mǔqīn qùnián zǒu le.
My mother passed away last year.
收拾她的东西时，那把旧扇子还在。
Shōushi tā de dōngxi shí, nà bǎ jiù shànzi hái zài.
Sorting through her things, I found that old fan still there.
断了一根的地方，修得好好的。
Duàn le yì gēn de dìfang, xiū de hǎohǎo de.
The broken rib had been mended neatly.
修它的人手很巧，不仔细看都看不出来。
Xiū tā de rénshǒu hěn qiǎo, bù zǐxì kàn dōu kàn bù chūlái.
Whoever mended it had skillful hands; you could hardly tell without looking closely.
我把扇子带回家，放在抽屉里。
Wǒ bǎ shànzi dài huí jiā, fàng zài chōuti lǐ.
I brought the fan home and put it in the drawer.
就在那块旧手表的旁边。
Jiù zài nà kuài jiù shǒubiǎo de pángbiān.
Right beside that old watch.
现在每次下雨，我都会想起带伞。
Xiànzài měi cì xià yǔ, wǒ dūhuì xiǎng qǐ dài sǎn.
Now, whenever it rains, I remember to take an umbrella.
想不起来也没关系。
Xiǎng bù qǐlái yě méi guānxi.
And if I forget, that is all right too.
丢了就丢了，母亲的东西我一样也不会丢。
Diū le jiù diū le, mǔqīn de dōngxi wǒ yíyàng yě bú huì diū.
Lost is lost; but I will not lose a single thing of my mother's.
这不是保证，是每天要做的事。
Zhè bú shì bǎozhèng, shì měi tiān yào zuò de shì.
This is not a promise; it is something to do every day.
抽屉里，扇子和表放在一起。
Chōuti lǐ, shànzi hé biǎo fàng zài yìqǐ.
In the drawer, the fan and the watch lie side by side.
表不走，扇不动，就陪着我。
Biǎo bù zǒu, shān bú dòng, jiù péi zhe wǒ.
The watch does not run and the fan does not move; they simply keep me company.
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