加拿大 ✈ 關於瑪莉恩阿姨 That was good

旅行時間：2013.05.24 – 2013.06.09
旅行地點：加拿大愛德華王子島查洛城（Charlottetown）

延伸閱讀：加拿大 ✈ 遠征愛德華王子島 Prince Edward Island、加拿大 ✈ 肌力女養成日記 PEI daily、傻豬翻譯機NO.26

住在小島木屋隔壁的瑪莉恩阿姨，是個自耕自種、自給自足的活力老人，堅強獨立的生活態度跟說作就作的高行動力，常讓大家自嘆不如。

瑪莉恩阿姨退休前擔任老師，現在仍定期為島上報社撰寫文章，她常說：Once a teacher, always a teacher，因此非常熱愛分享，我說想知道如何栽種馬鈴薯，她立刻從儲藏室拿出發芽馬鈴薯帶我們下田種了一排；吾妹小強說想學烤餅乾，她立刻帶我們進廚房揉起奶油麵粉；我們說從來沒吃過大黃，她立刻從菜園採了好幾把作藍莓大黃派（延伸閱讀：廚娘實習生 ＊ 蘋果大黃派 Apple and Rhubarb crisp）

瑪莉恩阿姨端著吾妹小強的生日蛋糕出場～

在吾妹小強的歡樂慶生會後（延伸閱讀：廚娘實習生 ＊ 焦糖蘋果海綿蛋糕 Caramelized apple sponge cake）瑪莉恩阿姨拿著紙筆問：「還想要哪份食譜呢？來作吧～」

決定給我們烤些小圓餅當隔天早餐，瑪莉恩阿姨動作熟稔地混好麵糰，送入烤箱，又一時興起煮了鍋蜂蜜芥末沙拉醬（延伸閱讀：廚娘實習生 ＊ 蜂蜜芥末沙拉醬 Homemade honey mustard salad dressing）等待出爐的時候，我們坐在客廳面湖的小桌，我問：「瑪莉恩阿姨你有電子郵件嗎？等我回荷蘭把慶生會的照片寄給你吧？」

瑪莉恩阿姨望著窗外：「幾年前我退休時，我報名電腦研習課，學會怎麼上網、怎麼收信、怎麼跟這個世界接軌。後來後來的某一天，我決定把網路停了、信箱關了、電腦收起來不再用了，然後你知道怎麼了嗎？我自由了～」我微笑地靜靜聽著，也看著窗外那被夕陽照得閃閃發亮的湖水，我跟吾妹小強這陣子最常在這湖划獨木舟了。

瑪莉恩阿姨的小木屋
照片右邊是幾艘我們划的獨木舟

瑪莉恩阿姨說的這種感覺我懂的，所以每每一出遠門就像人間蒸發，能不上網就不上網，能不收信就不收信… 只是在這資訊爆炸的時代，多少人能暫離網路手機？

那我們離開愛德華王子島後，可以怎麼跟你連絡？瑪莉恩阿姨說：「電話通常找得到我，如果你們有機會，寫明信片來我也會很高興，又或者是，只要你們心裡掛念著我，那就足夠了啊～念篇我寫過的文章跟你們分享吧？」瑪莉恩阿姨從房裡拿了兩本書送給我跟吾妹小強，內容是過去幾年她幫報社寫的文章，在她七十大壽那年集結成冊，分送給島上的家人朋友。

節錄〈One Lifetime of Opportunity〉

How Much is Enough?

       I wish you enough. This statement was made in something I read a long time ago. It was used by a person who, instead of saying good-bye or other such send off, would say “I wish you enough”.

I’ve thought about it many times since and figure now is a good time to bring it to the open again. I cannot recall who said it or wrote it so can’t give proper credit. Other greetings are used universally so I’m sure it is OK to use this one. My understanding of “I wish you enough” would be rather than say good luck, see you sometime, goodbye or even God bless, it’s a little of all of these, but not to the degree where a person would be expecting good luck to befall them. After all, we can’t make that happen. Rather than “see you sometime”, a feeling of you’ll be OK. Rather than “goodbye”, which in my language means, “God bless until we meet again”. Rather than “God bless”, which if we really look at it could be asking for God to do everything for us no matter what we did. Rather than any of these expressions which are all beautiful, we are consciously saying “may you have what you need”.

It does not say what you want; it does not say everything in large measure; it does not set you apart from any other human being; it simply asks that you will have enough to get you through today, as that is all we have. It asks for your health, work, food, comfort, but again only as much as you need.

瑪莉恩阿姨的留言在書封左上角

小圓餅出爐了，擺上網架放涼，瑪莉恩阿姨帶著我們在她的小木屋裡上上下下走了一圈，客廳旁的小房間裡，靠門的牆上貼滿家人照片，另一邊牆上則掛著瑪莉恩阿姨的手工地毯，毯上簡簡單單排著三個大字：That was good.

That was good? 我看向瑪莉恩阿姨，她眼裡閃著亮光：「That was good… 這是我先生死前的最後幾個字，That was good.」我怔怔地望著地毯無法言語，心中突如其來一股喜樂感動… 試想有多少人走到生命盡頭，可以滿足無憾地說出That was good來總結一生，然後撒手歸去？

暫居小島木屋的最後一天，傍晚大家在屋外升起營火，我們從樹林裡撿了樹枝烤棉花糖。非常喜歡棉花糖的瑪莉恩阿姨笑得開心，一邊烤著一邊說：「嘿，我想今晚應該也會成為你們在愛德華王子島的回憶之一吧？我們一起升了營火吃棉花糖～」

我看著粉紅棉花糖在火裡漸漸烤得金黃，心中充滿非常甜美的期待，一定是像瑪莉恩阿姨這樣心靈真正富足的人，才能不斷地付出，不求回報吧。

會的，瑪莉恩阿姨，會的 J

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