The first time I saw Kai she was sitting in my front yard, hugging my dog, Harley.
我第一次看到凱的時候，她正坐我家前院里，抱著我的狗狗Harley。

She and her husband Sean had just moved into a tiny home down the hill from us.
那時她和丈夫Sean剛剛搬到一所小房子里，從我家往下山的方向不遠處。


I think she was drawn to Harley's friendly personality just as he was drawn to hers.
我想她一定是被Harley友善的態(tài)度吸引了，正如她的丈夫被她友善的氣質(zhì)吸引一樣。


From the second I talked to her I knew Kai would be a cherished friend.
從我開始和她交談的那一刻起，我就知道，我一定會珍惜凱這個朋友。


Her smile and good cheer made me feel better just being around her.
她的微笑，她樂觀開朗的模樣讓我僅僅是待在她身邊就感到很開心了。


Her high voice was always full of happiness.
她說話音調(diào)很高，聲音里總充滿幸福感。


Before I knew it she was inviting me and my children into her house for homemade cake.
就在我了解到這一點之前，她已經(jīng)在邀請我和我的孩子們?nèi)ニ移穱L她自制的蛋糕了。

It didn't take long before Kai was beloved by everyone in our neighborhood.
沒過多久，凱就成為附近居民中人人寵愛的對象。


Children and adults alike visited her home often.
無論孩子還是大人，都經(jīng)常跑去她家做客。


Although she already had four cats she adopted a stray beagle that had been hurt by a bear and nursed it back to health.
——她已經(jīng)養(yǎng)了四只貓，還收養(yǎng)了一只流浪的獵兔犬，它被野熊咬傷了，凱姐姐為它療傷，直到它恢復(fù)健康，所以家里總是人滿為患。


When we visited her she would kindly listen to all of our troubles
我們?nèi)ニ野菰L的時候，她總是善意的聆聽我們傾吐自己的煩惱


and then say something so wise and uplifting
然后給以機智的建議，和振奮人心的鼓勵


that we would leave her home with our mouths smiling and our hearts singing.
當我們從她家走出來的時候，我們總是面帶微笑，心里唱著愉快的歌兒。


Sometimes I would read her my stories
有時我會把我寫的故事讀給她聽

while one of her cats would nap on my lap
她家的貓?zhí)稍谖业南ドw上打著盹

and she would always encourage me to keep writing and sharing with the world.
她總是鼓勵我繼續(xù)寫下去，要和全世界分享我的故事

Kai wasn't Hawaiian but loved the Hawaiian culture and spirit of family it cherished.
凱不是夏威夷本地人，但她十分喜愛夏威夷的本土文化，喜歡夏威夷人重視親情的風俗。


She was even a hula dancer in her younger days.
她年輕的時候還跳過hula舞呢。


She gave me a Hawaiian shirt that I loved so much
她送給我一件夏威夷本土風格的襯衣，我愛不釋手


that soon I bought several others to go with it
為了跟這件襯衣搭配，我立刻買了好幾件其他的穿搭

and today they are the only kind of shirt I wear.
到現(xiàn)在，我只穿夏威夷風格的襯衣了


Each time I see them hanging in my closet I think of her.
每次我看到他們掛在我的衣柜里，我都會想到她

Kai was a true giver.
凱總是對別人付出

She didn't have much to share materially 她囊中羞澀，
拿不出多少跟大家分享，

but what she gave to others spiritually was truly priceless.
但是她分享給別人的精神財富都是無價之寶

She gave everything she could, to everyone she could, every chance she could.
對所有的人，無論任何情況，她總是傾其所有對別人付出。

She had lived a life of such unconditional love.
終其一生，她都用無條件的愛愛著所有人。

All of this time, though, Kai was slowly dying from a terrible combination of Cancer and C.O.P.D.
可是，凱一直受著病痛的折磨，癌癥和慢性障礙性肺病一起慢慢消磨著她的生命

She had told me the first time we talked that she was terminal .
我們第一次交談的時候，她就告訴我，她離死期不遠了

Yet, she lived each day with such vitality that I often forgot just how ill she was.
可是，她還是每天都活力滿滿，以至于我經(jīng)常忘了，其實她身患重病。

In time her health did wane and she spent more and more time resting and sleeping.
時間一長，她的健康狀況越來越差，休息和睡覺的時間越來越多

I still visited her but only on her few “good” days.
我還是會去拜訪她，不過只在那些寥寥無幾的她的“好日子”里。

She died on a cold, Winter's day with heavy snow falling down like teardrops from sky.
在一個嚴寒刺骨的冬日，大雪紛飛如同天上落下的眼淚，她終于去世了。

In spite of the short time we had together
雖然我們在一起的日子十分短暫

I learned so much from Kai
我還是從凱身上學(xué)到了很多

about how to truly live all the days we are given here.
她教會我如何真正利用好我們所擁有的每一天

Lessons on kindness, generosity , hope, and good cheer seemed to flow freely from her daily life.
那些關(guān)于善良，關(guān)于慷慨，關(guān)于希望和積極心態(tài)的啟示似乎總會從她每天的生活中自由的流溢出來

I think most of all she taught me that joy like love is quite contagious
我覺得她教會我的最重要的事情是，歡樂如同愛一樣，是相互傳染的

and that I should always strive to be a carrier of them both.
并且，我應(yīng)該永遠努力成為歡樂和愛的承載者

May the same be said for all of us.
希望我們所有人都能這樣

Thanks Kai.
謝謝你，凱姐姐