When I was fourteen years old (same age as my daughter is today), my mom and I didn't have money for a Christmas dinner, much less gifts. I knew she was sad about it, and I was determined we wouldn't let it get us down1. Homemade gifts are nice, but I wasn't very imaginative and too broke for supplies2. I decided to give my mom something I treasured myself — the one nice piece of jewelry I owned, a gold cross necklace.
I cleaned it, made sure there were no knots in the chain and wrapped it in the prettiest paper I could find. I was so excited, I couldn't wait for her to open it.
Single moms have it hard (as I know firsthand3 now), and I really wanted to see her smile. We always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve night4, and that afternoon, I could wait no longer.
I asked if we could “have Christmas” early. I anticipated5 that Christmas more than when I knew I was getting a lot of nice gifts. I didn't expect to get anything that year. It was about giving.
I handed her the little box, hugged and kissed her and wished her a Merry Christmas. I waited anxiously for her to open it but she just sat there with the box in her hands and looked at it.
I remember the look on Mom's face was a mixture of sadness and serenity6. She knew her greatest gift to me was her love. After what seemed a long time, she looked at me and said, “I have something for you, too.”
She reached into her pocket, pulled out another small box, placed it in my hands and told me although it was not much, it was filled with love.
I was quite curious and a little scared. I knew money was tight7 and hoped Mom hadn't spent money on something we couldn't afford.
There was a little velvet8 box inside and when I lifted the lid, there was a tiny ring with a diamond chip in the center. In a note, she told me the ring was twenty-three years old, she hoped it brought me good luck... and “I love you.”
I got a huge lump in my throat9 and looked at her. She smiled and told me it had been her wedding band10 from my dad. It was now mine. I slipped it on my finger and hugged my mom.
She opened my gift and when she saw the necklace, big tears filled her eyes. She asked me to put it on her. She held the necklace and told me she thought it was our best Christmas ever. I could only nod my head in agreement.
This Christmas, I give thanks11 for Mom and treasure every memory we shared. You see, my mom has advanced12 Alzheimer's disease13 and no longer knows me. But I look at “our” ring and remember her gentle, wise spirit and give thanks that God blessed me with her.
But that's not the end of the story.
Our home was burglarized14 four years ago. One of the items stolen was that little ring. I had left all my jewelry at home for safekeeping15, because it was Memorial Day16 weekend and I was going to the lake. I was totally heartbroken17 when I found out the ring was gone. Of course, so were her diamond rings, my wedding band, engagement ring, etc., but it was that ring I grieved for18 the most.
I wrote a letter to our local paper and begged whoever stole it to “PLEASE return it by mail anonymously19.”
A few weeks went by with no response and then one day a police detective20 showed up at my door. He held out a tissue and asked me to identify21 the item inside.
It was my ring! I have never found out where or how he got it, but it remains on my finger to this day.
那年我14岁（跟我女儿现在这般年纪），我和妈妈没钱吃圣诞大餐，更没钱买礼物。我知道她为此感到伤心，我决心不让这事扫我们的兴。自制礼物当然很令人愉快，不过我缺乏想象力，而且囊中羞涩，也买不起材料。于是我决定将我珍藏的一件宝物送给妈妈——那是一条十字架金项链，也是我拥有的唯一 一件漂亮首饰。
我把项链擦拭干净，确保链子没有打结，之后用我所能找到的最漂亮的纸把它包好。我心情非常激动，恨不得妈妈马上就把它打开。
单身妈妈的日子不好过（如今我对此有切身体验），我多想看到她脸上显露出笑容。我们一直以来都是在圣诞夜打开礼物的，而那个下午，我有点等不及了。
我问妈妈我们能否早点“过圣诞节”。我期待这个圣诞节胜于往年自己可以收到很多漂亮礼物的任何一个圣诞节。那年我不指望收到礼物。是送礼物让我感到兴奋。
我把小盒子递给她，跟她亲吻、拥抱，并祝她圣诞快乐。我急切地等着她打开盒子，但她只是坐在那儿，把盒子拿在手里，静静地凝视。
我记得妈妈脸上的表情既伤感又安详。她知道她能给我的最好礼物就是她对我的爱。仿佛过了很长时间，她看了看我说：“我也有一件礼物要给你。”
她把手伸进口袋，掏出另一个小盒子，放到我手里，告诉我尽管它不值几个钱，但充满了她的爱心。
我非常好奇，甚至有点害怕。我知道妈妈手头不宽裕，所以希望她不要花钱买我们买不起的东西。
那是个天鹅绒小盒，我打开盒盖，发现里面有一枚小巧的戒指，戒指中央镶着一丁点钻石。盒内附有一页短笺，她在上面写道，这枚戒指已有23年历史了，希望它能给我带来好运……还有“我爱你”。
我喉头一下子哽咽起来，愣愣地看着她。她笑了起来，告诉我这是爸爸当年送给她的结婚戒指。现在归我了。我当即把它戴到手指上，跟妈妈紧紧搂在一起。
她打开了我送她的礼物，看到那条项链时，她眼里溢满了大颗的泪珠。她要我为她把项链戴上。她握着项链，对我说这是我们有生以来过得最好的圣诞节。我一个劲儿地点头表示同意。
今年圣诞节，我为妈妈做感恩祷告，对我们共同拥有的每一件往事都感到珍惜。你知道，我妈妈已经到了阿尔茨海默氏病晚期，认不出我了。但是我一看见“我们的”戒指，我就想起她那种温雅、贤慧的品质，就要感谢上帝赐给了我这么一个好妈妈。
但故事还没有结束。
就在4年前，我家失窃了。盗走的物品当中就有那枚戒指。本来是为安全起见，我把所有的珠宝都留在了家里，因为那天是阵亡将士纪念日的周末，我去了湖边。回家发现戒指不见了，我伤心欲绝。当然，被偷走的还有妈妈的钻戒、我的结婚戒和订婚戒等等，但最让我痛惜的还是妈妈送我的那枚戒指。
于是我给当地报纸写了一封信，请求偷了戒指的人无论如何“请把它以匿名的方式寄还给我”。
几个星期过去了，没有任何消息。后来有一天，一位警探出现在我家门口。他伸手递给我一个纸包，要我辨认里面的物件。
正是我的那枚戒指！我怎么也想不出他是从哪儿通过何种办法找回来的，但从那以后这枚戒指就一直戴在我的手指上，至今如此。
1. get (sb.) down 使悲伤；使沮丧；使忧郁
2. broke adj. 不名一文的，破产的
3. firsthand adv. 第一手；亲自得到
4. Christmas Eve night 平安夜
5. anticipate v. 期盼；期待
6. serenity n. 平静；宁静；安详
7. tight adj. 拮据的；不宽裕的
8. velvet n. 丝绒；天鹅绒
9. have/get a lump in one's throat 喉头哽咽
10. wedding band (= wedding ring) 结婚戒指
11. give thanks 做感恩祷告
12. advanced 后阶段的
13. Alzheimer's disease n. 阿尔茨海默氏病
14. burglarize v. 入室盗窃
15. for safekeeping 为安全起见
16. Memorial Day 阵亡将士纪念日〔美国法定假日，为5月份的最后一个星期日〕
17. heartbroken adj. 极为悲伤的；心碎的
18. grieve for 为…而感到伤心
19. anonymously adv. 匿名地
20. detective n. 侦探；警探
21. identify v. 识别，鉴别