Since I became a mother,
身為人母之后

I cannot remember the last time I had quality time for myself
我已經(jīng)記不得上一次享受一個人的時間是什么時候了...

Even my simple hobby of reading a book was already a thing of the past.
甚至讀書這樣簡簡單單的愛好也已經(jīng)成為了往事

All my time evolved in taking care of the family,
我的所有時間都用在家事上了

my kids,
養(yǎng)育孩子

my husband,
照顧丈夫

doing the house chores
做家務(wù)

and of course working to earn a living.
當(dāng)然，還有上班賺錢養(yǎng)家

Whenever I get to be invited
每次我受到邀請

by my colleagues to go out after work,
同事們約我下班去聚會

I politely declined
我只能禮貌的拒絕

telling them the truth that
坦言相告

I have a family to take care after work.
我下班后還要回去照顧家人

Not to mention the tons of laundry,
更不提回家還有成堆的衣服要洗errands各種雜事要做

and other house chores waiting for me.
還有一大堆家務(wù)在等著我

Well, I guess that is all part of motherhood.
好吧，我想這些都是一個母親生活的組成部分

Of course,
當(dāng)然

I took responsibility of my being a mother and wife
我會對自己身為母親和妻子的角色盡職盡責(zé)

and tried my very best to maximize my time as much as possible.
盡全力讓自己的時間得到最大化的利用

But then,
可是隨后

as years passed by
數(shù)年過去了

I realized that the chores were unending.
我意識到自己的職責(zé)沒有盡頭

My to-do list never seemed to have an end.
我那張“待辦事宜”的清單似乎無休無止

Even if I try to finish all of it,
即使我努力做完所有的事

new ones will always come up.
新的事情最后總會出現(xiàn)

I tried to prioritize my tasks
我試著給自己的任務(wù)安排一個優(yōu)先級

and still feel very exhausted at the end of the day.
但到了一天的末尾，我還是感到筋疲力盡

I tried to share responsibilities with my husband and kids,
我試著讓丈夫和孩子們分擔(dān)家務(wù)

but still felt that I have no time for myself.
但還是感到完全沒有自己的時間

The chores seemed to be endless.
要干的活兒似乎沒完沒了

I craved for "me time. "
我渴望有點“自己的時間”

And when I say me time,
當(dāng)我說“自己的時間”

I only meant being able to do my eyebrows in an unhurried way,
我值得僅僅是，可以慢條斯理的畫眉毛

having an hour or so of quiet bliss,
能夠安安靜靜的呆一分鐘

playing candy crush,
玩一玩小游戲

listening to music,
聽聽音樂

reading a book,
看看書

or watching a movie
或者欣賞一部電影

without being constantly interrupted by my toddler
而不是經(jīng)常被我的寶寶們打斷

with the words, "It's my turn, mama."
提醒我，“媽媽，輪到我了”

I have been so used to not having time for myself
我太習(xí)慣這種毫無個人時間的生活了

that I didn't give much thought about that "me time"
我甚至沒有怎么想到過“自己的時間”

until just recently.
直到最近

After 10 long years of waiting,
十年的漫長等待之后

my immigrant visa application was finally approved
我的簽證終于辦好了

and I had to travel to a new country all by myself.
我將獨自去一個陌生的國家旅行

Since the agency was going to pay for my airfare only,
由于旅行社只能為我支付旅費

my husband and kids will have to follow at a later date
我的丈夫和孩子們只能日后再過來

as soon as I can purchase their plane tickets.
當(dāng)我能為他們買飛機票的時候

And so it happened.
于是我愿望成真了。

I was alone in an apartment.
我一個人呆在房間里

Now I can do whatever I wanted
現(xiàn)在我可以做自己想做的任何事

and keep the house clean and tidy.
可以保持房間干凈又整潔

I can read my favorite books
我可以讀自己最喜歡的書

and do all that I wanted to do with my time.
可以花時間做自己想做的任何事

I practically had all the time for mysel while waiting for my job orientation!
事實上，由于我必須等著入職培訓(xùn)，眼前的時間全都是我自己的！

But surprisingly it didn't make me happy.
我驚訝的發(fā)現(xiàn)，自己并沒有感到高興

I was lonely.
我如此孤單

No more daily routine of nagging
突然間沒有了日常的絮絮叨叨

and pushing the kids to get up and help out.
不用催促著孩子們起床，上學(xué)

I missed my kids,
我想念我的孩子們

I missed my husband,
我想念我的丈夫

I missed my family back home.
我想念我遠在天邊的小家

I felt something in me was missing.
我感到自己內(nèi)心像是缺了一塊

My kids, my family are already part of me.
我的孩子，我的家人已經(jīng)是我的一部分

I spent nights crying myself to sleep
我整夜整夜哭泣，哭累了才睡著

easing the loneliness within me.
以此排解心中的孤獨

Then I came to realize that making time for me
我意識到，騰出自己的時間

doesn't mean being away from those I love.
并不意外著遠離自己所愛的人

I can still have a "me time"
我仍可以享受“自己的時間”

even if I have the kids around
即便孩子們都圍繞在我身旁

and endless chores and errands to take care.
即便我有無盡的家務(wù)和雜事要去處理

I can prioritize and plan.
我可以排優(yōu)先級，可以計劃

I can change my attitude and approach towards house chores and errands.
我可以改變自己對家務(wù)雜事的態(tài)度，改進自己的做事方法

Life wouldn't be the same without the people you love near you.
沒有你愛的人在你身邊，生活就會變味

As of the moment,
此時此刻

I am looking forward that
我正期盼著

they can join me soon
他們能很快重新回到我身邊

?