It seems like every time our family gets together something is left behind.When I call my children to tell them what they have left behind I am usually told，“Oh，just bring it when you come，”“Keep it for me until I come back the next time，”or“Hey，I really need that，would you mind mailing it to me？”
似乎每次我们家庭聚会，他们总会落下一些东西。每次我打电话告诉我的孩子他们都落下些什么的时候，他们通常会跟我说，“噢，下次你来时给我们带上吧。”或者“帮我留着，下次我回去再取。”又或者“嗨，我急着用，能帮我邮寄过来吗？”
“Oh look！Here’s Tegan’s tooth，”I said to my husband as I picked up a ziplock bag with her name engraved on it.Tegan had a loose tooth and had managed to wiggle it out earlier in the day.“Now, she can’t put it under her pillow.I wonder if it will work if I put it under my pillow.The Tooth Fairy is going to be so confused！”I laughed.
“噢，看！这是泰根的牙，”我边捡起一个写着她名字的自封袋，边对丈夫说道。泰根先前有颗牙松了，今早她成功把它拽了下来。“现在，她没法把牙放在她的枕头下了。我想知道，如果我把它放在我的枕头下，那传说是否奏效。牙仙子会很困惑的！”我笑了。
I walked on around the house finding more things that had been left behind：a toothbrush，a ponytail band，an angel figurine，a pie pan，a frozen teething ring in the freezer，and last but not least the insides of a turkey fryer.
我在屋里四处游走时发现了更多被落下的东西：一把牙刷、一根发带、一个天使小雕像、一个烙馅饼用的平底锅、一个放在冰柜里冷藏给婴儿长牙时咬的橡皮环，最后还有一个同样重要的炸火鸡用的油炸锅内胆。
I was really kind of enjoying myself.It gave me something to do，after they left，to take my mind off of missing them.
我还真的挺乐在其中的。这使我在他们走后有事可做，从而暂时摆脱对他们的思念。
Then my eyes teared up as I noticed the baby outfit beside the sink where it had been left to dry after spots had been scrubbed out of it.The little outfit，now stain free，reminded me of the trip to the emergency room with Rowan due to a gashon her head that was caused from a flower pot pulled over by her curious little fingers.
接着，留意到水槽旁晾着的那件污点已被洗净的婴儿服时，我满眼是泪。那件干净的小衣服让我想起了带罗温去急诊室那件事。那次，她用好奇的小手指拉倒了一个花瓶，碎片在她头上划开了一道很深的口子。
“Hmmm，things left behind…”I pondered to myself.It seems there is one thing that is left behind on every occasion.Memories are always left behind，I reasoned，and what a precious thing good memories are to us.I thought how each item left behind reminded me of the person it belonged to and the story surrounding it.The insides of the turkey fryer that was left behind reminded me of the delicious Thanksgiving meal that we all enjoyed.The empty pie pan reminded me of Katie’s delicious pies.The angel figurine reminded me of the white elephant gift exchangegame that we play every year.Even the bad memory of Rowan’s injury reminded me of how frightened I was at the sound of her cry.It is a bad memory that turned into a good one as it reminded us of how precious little Rowan is to us.
